The NYU Dream Team and Asian/Pacific/American Institute teamed up to host an open panel discussion titled Beyond the Shadows: Unpacking the Undocumented American Experience on Oct. 28.
The NYU Dream Team is an on-campus organization that provides a safe space for undocumented students. NYU’s A/P/A Institute similarly provides an academic space for dialogue about Asian- and Pacific-American issues.
Latino studies professor Luisa Heredia moderated the panel, engaging with some of the pioneers of the undocumented youth movement.
Hong Mei Pang, an undocumented organizer for Revolutionizing Asian-American Immigrant Stories on the East Coast and panelist at the event, emphasized that Asians, along with Latinos, account for a majority of undocumented residents.
“I think that analysis and movement building has to include a racial context as well,” Hong said. “A lot of the work we have done at [Revolutionizing Asian-American Immigrant Stories on the East Coast] has been to include the pan-Asian and Asian-American voice in this movement.”
Dream Team member and Gallatin senior Mark Putterman also stated that the discussion of immigration often excludes non-Latino immigrants.
“Calling attention to the fact that this is a broad issue impacting not only Latinos, but also Asians, Pacific Islanders, and even European, African and Caribbean immigrants is important in complicating the conversations we all have about immigration,” Putterman said.
Another panelist and undocumented NYU law student Razeen Zaman, discussed the efforts to pass the Dream Act in 2010. Zaman, who is also a campaign organizer for New York State Youth Leadership Council, explained that the Dream Act would have created expedited pathways to citizenship for young people if it had passed.
“We realized that lobbying wasn’t going to cut it,” Zaman said. “The politicians wanted to put the Dream Act up for a vote because they wanted to tie it into the comprehensive immigration reform. We saw that as a failing strategy and sought to put up the Dream Act as a stand-alone legislation.”
Queens College graduate student Nicole Pimentel, who works in the Parsons Scholars Program, where she often encounters undocumented high school students, said she attended the panel to learn more and be a resource for these students.
“There are undocumented students who need more information,” Pimentel said. “I want to be informed and share my knowledge with the students we help.”
Dream Team member and Silver senior Maria-Monica Andia said the group hopes to start a conversation about undocumented students on campus.
“We consider this event a success if it broadened peoples’ perspectives on what the undocumented youth movement is,” Andia said.
A version of this article appeared in the Tuesday, Oct. 28 print edition. Anjana Sreedhar is a contributing writer. Email her at [email protected].
