We Are All Dreamers: Education in the Shadow of Fear (Reflections from California)

I'm writing this from California, where the air feels different this week. Not because of the weather, but because of the fear. As raids sweep through Los Angeles communities with prominent Latino populations, I keep thinking about the students, the young people whose education is being disrupted by policies that see them as problems to be solved rather than dreams to be nurtured.

This hits differently for me because I've spent the past year of my PhD in a class where we were researching how immigration status impacts educational access and belonging. But watching it unfold in real time? That's something else entirely.

(A note before we begin: I'm writing this through my student-centered lens because that's how I see the world, education first, always. But I want to be clear: the grandparents, mothers, fathers, and families being impacted by what's happening in Los Angeles deserve our full attention and compassion too. Every single undocumented person, regardless of age or educational status, deserves dignity and safety. Today I'm focusing on students because that's where my expertise and passion lie, but my heart is with every single immigrant and/or undocumented person affected by these policies.)

When Fear Enters the Classroom

Imagine being a university student right now, trying to focus on finals, applications, or graduation planning while wondering if your family will be there when you get home. Imagine being an undocumented graduate who worked against all odds to earn a degree, only to watch opportunities disappear as quickly as they appeared.

The raids that are taking place aren't just 'immigration enforcement', they're educational disruption. When 44 people are arrested at a single job site, when 77 more are taken from the greater LA area in one day, we're not just separating families. We're shattering dreams that often took generations to build.

|| This has to stop.

Our leaders need to understand that criminalizing people for seeking opportunities doesn't protect anyone. It destroys communities, disrupts learning, and creates a climate of fear that keeps young people out of classrooms and away from the futures they're working toward.

The Education They Cannot Use

In my research on undocumented university students, I kept encountering this heartbreaking reality: students who gain access to education they cannot fully use post-graduation. Despite reforms like DACA, which provided some protection and work authorization, these students still face what I call "educational limbo", achieving academically while living with constant uncertainty about their future.

As Porter (2021) noted, "DACA does not provide lawful status to recipients, which breeds uncertainty about the future and prevents DACA students from scholastic planning." How do you plan for tomorrow when you don't know if you'll be here to see it?

Since 2023, new DACA applications aren't even being accepted, only renewals (Salazar et al., 2022). So the young person sitting in a California classroom right now, dreaming of university, may not have the same pathways that previous generations had.

|| This is a policy failure, not a moral crisis.

Instead of creating pathways for young people to contribute their talents, we're wasting human potential because of where someone was born.

The Cruelty of Broken Dreams

Here's what's particularly cruel about our current moment: we've created a system that allows students to access higher education while simultaneously making their post-graduation futures uncertain. We tell young people to dream big, work hard, get educated, and then we pull the rug out from under them when they try to use that education.

I think about the undocumented graduates in my research who reported that "losing (or not obtaining) work authorization is their biggest concern," with 96% feeling anxiety about their immigration status (Georgetown University, 2022). These aren't abstract statistics. These are young people who want to just exist.

Furthermore, as Salazar et al. (2022) found, "the data showed that having DACA did not translate into more stability for participants at the time of graduation," highlighting how even those with temporary protection face ongoing uncertainty about their futures.

|| Our political leaders are failing these young people.

Instead of criminalizing their existence, we should be celebrating their determination and creating systems that allow them to fully contribute to our society.

We Are All Dreamers

But here's what I want us to remember in this moment of fear and division: we are all dreamers.

The undocumented student studying late in the library is dreaming. The first-generation university student working multiple jobs to stay in school is dreaming. The young person whose family sacrificed everything to give them educational opportunities is dreaming.

And frankly, those of us advocating for more compassionate policies? We're dreaming too, dreaming of a world where a student's immigration status doesn't determine their educational future.

|| It's time for our leaders to dream bigger too.

Dream of policies that get young people back into classrooms instead of driving them underground. Dream of systems that let people exist loudly and proudly instead of living in constant fear.

Stop the Criminalization, Start the Education

What's happening in Los Angeles right now should be a wake-up call for every leader. We need those with the power to make legal change happen to understand that education and immigration aren't separate issues, they're deeply intertwined human issues that require compassion, not cruelty.

|| Enough with the raids. Enough with the fear tactics. Enough with treating human beings like criminals for seeking opportunity.

We need leaders who work to create "welcoming environments and establish dedicated spaces to serve their undocumented populations" (Delgado, 2022). We need partnerships between universities and organizations willing to create pathways to work authorization. We need mentoring programs connecting current students with successful professionals who've navigated similar challenges.

For example researchers such as Freeman and Valdivia (2021) suggest, "institutionalizing a full-time staff solely with undocumented students and establishing an Undocumented Student Resource Center" represents a crucial institutional commitment (p. 91).

But more than institutional support, we need policy leaders to stop criminalizing people and start focusing on what actually matters: getting young people back to classrooms, people back to work, and humans being able to exist without fear.

An Urgent Call for Educational Justice

Every time we allow fear to drive policy, we're telling young people that their dreams don't matter. Every time we prioritize enforcement over education, we're saying that some children are worth investing in and others aren't.

This stops now. The young people in those LA communities deserve the same right to dream, learn, and contribute that any of us have. Their immigration status doesn't diminish their potential, it often amplifies their determination.

As Delgado (2022) writes, "undocumented students still report concern about the safety of their undocumented parents, fears about the possible rescindment of DACA, and anxiety about their future" (p. 2). This reality underscores why we need more than just access to education, we need equitable access that addresses these fundamental concerns.

Moving Forward with Love and Action

So where do we go from here? We lead with love, but we also demand action. We center education as a human right, not a privilege based on legal status. We create policies that see young people as complete human beings with unlimited potential, not problems to be managed.

We call out leaders who choose criminalization over compassion. We vote for those who understand that a student's zip code or documentation status shouldn't determine their future. We demand policies that get people back to work, back to school, and back to living without fear.

We recognize that when we nurture one dreamer, regardless of where they were born, we create space for countless others to dream bigger too.

In your educational spaces, how are you protecting and nurturing all dreamers? How are you calling out policies that disrupt learning? How are you demanding that your leaders choose education over enforcement?

Because ultimately, that's what education is about: helping all young people become who they're meant to be, regardless of the circumstances. And that's what leadership should be about: creating conditions where every young person can exist loudly, thrive and contribute their gifts without fear.

Read, reflect, and let me know: How are you creating space for all dreamers in your context? And how are you holding leaders accountable for policies that disrupt education?

References

Delgado, V. (2022). Can universities counteract immigrant illegality? Examining the impact of university-based institutional support on undocumented college students. Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World, 8, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/2378023122108939

Freeman, R. E., & Valdivia, C. (2021). Education equity for undocumented graduate students and the key role of My Undocumented Life. Journal of Critical Scholarship on Higher Education and Student Affairs, 6(2), Article 7. https://ecommons.luc.edu/jcshesa/vol6/iss2/7

Georgetown University. (2022, July 6). DACA's crucial role in workforce opportunities for undocumented college grads. Georgetown University. https://feed.georgetown.edu/access-affordability/report-dacas-crucial-role-in-workforce-opportunities-for-undocumented-college-grads/

Porter, N. (2021). Barriers to higher education DACA recipients face in the United States. Ballard Brief. Brigham Young University. https://ballardbrief.byu.edu/issue-briefs/barriers-to-higher-education-daca-recipients-face-in-the-united-states

Salazar, C., Barahona, C., & Yepez-Coello, F. (2022). Where do I go from here? Examining the transition of undocumented students graduating from college. Journal of College Student Development, 63(2), 191–207. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2022.0016

(This is Newsletter #6 in my ongoing series about youth empowerment and educational transformation. In times of fear, we choose love AND action. In times of division, we demand education over enforcement.)