PR/LACC Speakers Discuss Immigrant's Rights

Although all children who reside in the United States have a right to a free public education, students who wish to go to college sometimes are denied a higher education, mostly for the reason of not having enough money to pay for it.

Children of undocumented immigrants often cannot pay for college or even apply FAFSA for aid because they do not have the legal papers needed. This example of many of what undocumented immigrants face on a daily basis; presented at the "Understanding the Constitutional and Employment Rights of Immigrants in the United States" Wednesday at the Puerto Rican/Latin American Cultural Center.

"It's actually for extra credit for a class I'm taking called History of Latinos," said Katie Agostine, a 7th-semester history major. "I'm really interested in Latin Culture. I didn't really learn about it in high school and I wanted to learn more broad things about it."

Mark Overmyer-Velaquez, a UConn assistant history professor as well as the Associate Director for the Center for Oral History, was one of the organizers of the forum for the campus. He stated that one of the reasons he wanted to hold a program like this was "to have the university community better understand the vital role migrants play in the daily life of our state and nation and that despite this critical position in our economic, social and cultural lives, their legal rights are often circumscribed and challenged by law makers and enforcers at the local, state and national levels."

Overmyer-Velaquez began the forum saying, "It's an important time to talk about the rights of migrants" and discussed several acts of legislation that were centered around this topic, including the In-state Tuition Bill which would allow children of undocumented parents to attend a state college and pay instate prices rather than out of state; a bill vetoed by Governor Jodi Rell. Also, he discussed the Dream Act, which proposes that undocumented immigrant children who enter the country before turning 16 years old and remain in school or the military for six years could be eligible for permanent residency and is currently being spearheaded by Senator Harry Reid in Congress.

The main presenters of the program were Kristin Hoffman, a private practice immigrant lawyer and Chair of the Connecticut Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and Kara Hart, a lawyer for the Greater Hartford Legal Aid. Both lawyers were surprised that UConn had invited them and were interested in the program. Hoffman and Hart presented a power point presentation that focused on legal and undocumented immigration.

"AILA has made it one of our missions this year to reach out to the community with these Know Your Rights presentations to educate the community," Hoffman said.

The presenters on what undocumented immigrants should do to avoid being arrested, detained and possibly "removed" from the country.

"I have been practicing immigration for [law] 10 years and carrying gales documentation has never worked for an undocumented immigrant's benefit," said Hoffman. She continued saying that undocumented immigrants "have to have [their] wits about [them]."

An example scenario she provided was if an Immigrations Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer came to their home, the immigrant should not allow the officer in their home or even open their door since opening a door can be consent to search, according to ICE. Also, knowing about the right to remain silent is imperative.

"Open your mouth or your door and it's all over," said Hoffman.

The audience also asked questions and stated certain facts they knew about the process of deportation. One man noted that many undocumented immigrants who are detained before their deportation trial are even sent across the country, breaking up families and causing heart ache as well as other, financial complications. Some courts even perform deportation trials through video conferences in which the detainee in question is in one part of the country while the lawyer and judge are in another.

Hart stated that the numbers of undocumented immigrants in the United States can be abstract to the American people and that it is only when powerful individual stories of about how undocumented immigrants struggle to make their lives here and stay in this country puts flesh and bone to the immigration issue.

Contact Natalie Abreu at

Natalie.Abreu@UConn.edu.