Immigrants Rising, formerly Educators for Fair Consideration (E4FC) works to empower low-income undocumented students in their education and career goals. Collaborating with this like-minded ally is an effective way to increase the resources and services available to all undocumented students.

Collaboration makes us stronger

Since 2006, Immigrants Rising has been empowering undocumented young people throughout the United States to achieve their education and employment dreams. Similar to the USP, Immigrants Rising works holistically to meet the needs of undocumented young people through direct support, leadership, career development, community outreach, creative expression, and advocacy. By working together, both Immigrants Rising and the USP improve the quality of our information and services, and expand our research and outreach capacity.

Accessing the best information

The USP and Immigrants Rising share information and ideas that will benefit undocumented students. In particular, Immigrants Rising collects extensive information about scholarships and other financial aid support that we then share with the USP community. For example, through Immigrants Rising we learned about the following grant programs:

  • CA Campus Catalyst Fund is a multi-million dollar, three-year grantmaking initiative to expand support for undocumented students and their families across the state’s three public higher education systems: California Community Colleges, California State University, and University of California
  • Scholarship Fund provides financial awards, advisory services, and a peer support network for immigrant college students
  • Entrepreneurship Fund provides grants to undocumented entrepreneurs working to create positive social change. The Fund showcases the talents of undocumented young people and amplifies the positive impact of their work

Working together for change

In addition, we collaborate with Immigrants Rising on special projects that inform the field. For example, we worked together to produce the UndocuCollege Guide & Equity Tool, which provides a landscape view of undocumented students in higher education, including a list of best practices for supporting undocumented students, and an assessment tool for schools to evaluate their practices. For this project, the USP gathered the information from schools, while Immigrants Rising focused on disseminating the finished product.

Considerations for Getting Started

  • Immigrants Rising can provide valuable resources to any institution seeking to support the undocumented student community on its campus. Which resources will your institution take advantage of?