undocumented
'Living in the shadows'
For students living 'in the shadows,' it means keeping their status a secret. There is shame and stigma with being undocumented. This causes students to sometimes lead a double-life, where they hide who they really are, even from their closest friends.
It's important to note that there are 11 million undocumented people who are raising the next generation of American Citizens. The same issues that plague undocumented students carry over to citizen peers who belong to a mixed-status family.
Why don't you just become 'legal?'
Immigration is complicated. Everyone's immigration case is different based on specific circumstances such as:
- Year of arrival
- Country of origin
- Socio-economic status
These factors determine the naturalization processing time. Often, people can be waiting for their status to change over a decade.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE AN IMMIGRANT TO BE AN ALLY.
If you are a citizen, then you can use your privilege and become an undocuAlly.
An undocuAlly is someone who has “legal status” but who supports and stands with the undocumented community. If you form part of a mixed-status family where you have a parent or an older sibling who is undocumented, you could also be an ally to your family.
An undocuAlly can be anyone who has citizenship such as:
- teacher
- sibling / family member
- friend
Watch the video showing best friends, Mandeep and Julia, show what it means to be an undocuAlly.
To be an undocuAlly, the first thing you must do is to get educated about immigration. One of the worst things that you can do as an ally is use offensive terminology.
Get familiar with the correct language and spread the word.
words matter
It's 2018 & you're still using the 'I' word?
Phrases like “illegal immigrant” and “illegal alien” dehumanize immigrants. It is important to use illegal only to refer to an action or a thing, not a living person.
For example: Illegal immigration = describing a thing / action, but not illegal immigrant = describing a person.
(Being in the U.S. without proper documents is a civil offense, not a criminal one.)
We should use alternative words, such as “undocumented” for non-offensive & neutral terminology.