Guess Who

1
Guess Whos Coming to America?Immigrants and
refugees 2011
2
Sharing What We Know

• Maria Green
• Assistant Director of Prekindergarten and
  Homeless Education Program
• Department Student Diversity Learning
• Phone [phone]
• E-mail Maria_Green_at_roundrockisd.org

3
Sharing What We Know

• Vicky Dill
• Senior Program Coordinator,
• Texas Homeless Education Office, University of
  Texas at Austin
• 512-475-9715
• vickydill_at_austin.utexas.edu

4
Challenges Immigrant and Refugee Students Face

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?v-YNj1ad8vDMfeature
  
• Believing in my Culture and Religion

5
Liaisons Should Model Cultural Competence
Courtesies

• Know strategies to show commitment to struggling
  immigrant and refugee families who may have
  become homeless.
• Understand the difference between cultural
  competence, cultural tendencies, and stereotyping.

6
Cultural Competence and Courtesies

• Augments individual liaisons intrapersonal
  skills to better serve the needs of homeless
  immigrants and refugees.
• Reflects the Mosaic or Tapestry symbol America
  is not really a melting pot where cultures mix
  until they are indecipherable, but rather a
  picture woven of distinct threads.

7
Immigrants and Refugees

• How are they different under the law?

8
Immigrants and Refugees

• An Immigrant is a person who permanently moves
  to a country different from that of their birth.
• A Refugee is a person who has fled their
  country of birth due to fear of persecution, war,
  or imminent danger.
• Students and families can be both of these.

9
Cultural Competence

• Includes the understandings that
• each person in any cultural group is first and
  foremost, an individual.
• cultural groups vary immensely within the
  culture.
• learning about cultural tendencies is not the
  same as stereotyping.

10
Strategies to Increase Cultural Competence and
Courtesies

• Read and learn about the culture visit and
  share stories with youth and families
• Evaluate your own assumptions and values about
  the culture consider the values of the culture
  when serving students
• Learn a few phrases of the students home
  language
• Learn and pronounce students actual names, not
  just the American version.

11
Helpful Definitions

• Cultural Tendencies Shared beliefs, traditions,
  and values of a group of people.
• Race A classification that distinguishes a
  group of people from one another based on
  physical characteristics such as skin color and
  other biological attributes.
• Ethnicity The social definition of groups of
  people based on shared ancestry and includes
  race, customs, nationality, language and
  heritage.

12
Why Learn these Tendencies?

• By increasing their understanding of tendencies
  within various cultural groups, it is easier for
  professionals to view students as individuals
  within the framework of their community and
  culture . . .
• (Roseberry-McKibbin, 2007).

13
Top 8 Countries Sending Refugees (as opposed to
immigrants) to the US, according to the United
Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR)

• The U.S. admitted 60,192 refugees in FY 2008, the
  latest data available from UNHCR. This included
  many Cuban and Haitian nationals admitted for
  asylum.

14
Who Receives Asylum?

• Political refugees who are fleeing arrest,
  torture, or other forms of oppression
• An individual who receives asylum is called an
  asylee or refugee.

15
Top 8 Countries Sending Refugees to the U.S.
(UNHCR)

1. Cuba (23,294)
2. Iraq (13,755 )
3. Burma (12,852),
4. Thailand (5,279)
5. Iran (5,257),
6. Bhutan (5,244),
7. Burundi (2,875), and
8. Somalia (2,510)

16
Are Refugees Stably Housed?

• Because of the vetting process which starts for
  refugees at the UNHCR and progresses through
  other clearinghouse agencies towards, at the
  local level, a faith-based agency that resettles
  refugees, most new refugees are not homeless.

17
Refugees Six top states that received them

• Florida (21,026)
• California (9,739
• Texas (5,712),
• New York (3,784),
• Michigan (3,436),
• Arizona (3,212).

18
Cultural Understandings of the Refugees (as
opposed to immigrants) Who Came in the Largest
Numbers to the United States

• Cuba
• Iraq
• Haiti
• Research drawn from Bridging Refugee and
  Childrens Services (BRYCS) at www.brycs.org

19
Cuba Sent the Most Refugees

• Cubans may not know religious distinctions in the
  U.S. as religion was outlawed prior to 1991 in
  Cuba. Catholicism and Santeria (an African
  variation) are the most common religions.
• Many Cuban parents, like other refugees,
  discipline their children in ways that vary
  greatly from discipline customs in the U.S.
• TV is not watched daily in Cuba Cuban refugees,
  like other refugees families, may be wary of TV
  violence for their children.

20
Iraq The Second Most Populous Refugee Group

• Special programs exist within the UNHRC to assist
  Iraqis who are refugees from the war
• Stigmatization and bullying in the U.S. are
  common for Iraqi students
• In many Iraqi families, the mother is responsible
  for the discipline of the children physical
  punishment is permitted by the parents, but not
  by the teachers
• In Iraq, the whole neighborhood may discipline
  the child in the U.S. this is uncommon.

21
Iraq (Cont.)

• Many Iraqi refugees find citizens in the U.S. are
  more sensitive to the differences between Shite
  and Sunni than Iraqis are.
• Iraqi families appreciate when their student(s)
  can find or have an Arab mentor.
• Many Iraqi families have made downward
  adjustments in their lifestyle since leaving Iraq
  and are surprised at the lack of social safety
  nets in the U.S.

22
Haiti The Third Most Populous Refugee Group

• Haitians do not want to be stereotyped as a
  people who are either dominating, corrupt, and
  violent (ruling class), or uneducated, passive,
  and not loyal (everyone else).
• Haitians tend to see migration as a primary mode
  to better themselves and survive.
• Because of their history, Haitians may think of
  government as generally elite and predatory.

23
Coming to America Isnt Easy

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vZtipuczPTtY
• Manifest Coming to America

24
Refugee Stability in the US

• Post arrival stability varies greatly.
• Refugees come under the care of a voluntary
  agency or volag.
• Volags assist the refugees for approximately 90
  days after arrival.
• Refugees are eligible for welfare and Medicaid
  for about the first 8 months. Until they become
  citizens, many benefits are not available to them.

25
Refugee Stability in the US

• 30 years ago, refugees received a minimum of 1.5
  years of assistance and 3 years of reimbursement
  for medical expenses.
• Today, refugees admitted to the US tend to be
  more fragile victims of torture, rape,
  persecution and other forms of violence.
• Yet there are fewer welfare benefits, no medical
  safety net, and fewer employment opportunities
  for refugees than ever before.

26
Update on Immigrants, 2011
27
Documented Immigrants Coming to the U.S.

• Top 10 countries of origin for documented
  immigrants

• Mexico (166,271)
• India (64,857)
• China (60,720)
• Philippines (53,171)
• Vietnam (39,915)

• Dominican Republic (33,230)
• Pakistan (25, 972)
• Haiti (24, 726)
• South Korea (23,077)
• El Salvador (17, 193)

28
Extending Cultural Understanding and Courtesies
Hispanic Families

• Many Hispanic families tend to hold teachers in
  high regard.
• Many Hispanic families emphasize the needs of the
  group and cooperation over the needs of
  individuals and competition.
• Educational levels vary greatly immigrants
  knowledge of Spanish may also vary greatly.
• Some Hispanic families may not understand why
  their daughters need to graduate from high school
  instead of bearing children.

29
Extending Cultural Understanding and Courtesies
Asian/Indian Families

• Many Asian/Indian families greatly emphasize
  family interdependence and loyalty.
• Fathers may hold the highest authority and
  children are taught to defer to adults.
• If children behave badly, the family may lose
  face. Children may be controlled with physical
  punishments.
• Many Asian/Indian families prefer family care of
  their pre-school children, so preschoolers may
  have never been outside the home or in
  strangers care prior to kindergarten. These
  children may need longer to learn to socialize.

30
Undocumented A Population of Promise

• There are between 65,000 and 1.8 million
  undocumented children living in the U.S.

31
Undocumented Immigrants

• As of February 2011, the non-partisan Pew
  Hispanic Center counts roughly 11.2 million
  undocumented immigrants in the U.S., up from 8.4
  million in 2000.
• About 5 of all members of the U.S. labor force
  are undocumented.

32
From What Countries do Undocumented Immigrants
Arrive?

• 58 are Mexican (6.5 million)
• 23 from other Latin American countries
• 11 from Asia
• 4 from Europe and Canada,
• 3 from Africa.
• Only about 8 of all U.S. newborns (350,000) have
  one undocumented parent.

33
Undocumented? Documented?

• Refugees are seldom allowed to immigrate without
  full documentation.
• Immigrants can be either documented or
  undocumented.

34
Serving Immigrants in School

• Both School Districts and Immigrants have Rights.
• Immigrants and Refugees alike should be treated
  with sensitivity and an awareness of cultural
  tendencies.
• Liaisons may wish to acquaint themselves with
  state laws in order to know if immigrants need to
  be documented in order to acquire IDs and
  drivers licenses.

35
APPREHENSIONS CAN LEAVE YOUTH HOMELESS COURTESY
http//www.bernardokohler.org/Juvenile.htm
36
May 6, 2011 Joint Letter from the DOJ and DOE

• Cites Titles IV and VI of the federal code that
  prohibit discrimination on the basis of race,
  color, or national origin.
• Cites Plyler v. Doe which makes it clear that the
  citizen status of a student is irrelevant to
  their entitlement to an education.
• Cites Brown v. Board of Education in encouraging
  districts to review their documents in light of
  this notice.

37
DOJ Requests to the State of Alabama

• November 1 letter from the DOJ about Alabamas SB
  56 and the potential to chill enrollment
• May be preliminary to further action
• Focuses on extent of withdrawals (items 2 3)
  and tracks data on a monthly basis.

38
Treating Students with Dignity

• Districts may require residency information via
  copies of water or phone bills however, a
  district must recognize that immigration status
  is not relevant to residency
• Districts may request birth certificate
  information to gauge a students age and to
  fulfill requirements to supply data however,
  failure to supply this data cannot lead to a
  denial of enrollment.

39
Treating Students with Dignity (cont.)

• Districts that choose to request social security
  numbers must demonstrate that the request is
  voluntary they must provide the statutory reason
  for the request, apply the same requests to all
  students, and never deny enrollment based on
  failure to provide such information.
• Encourages district officials to visit the local
  Office of Civil Rights to see if their documents
  are in compliance.

40
When Disagreement Arises

• Ensure that language on the Student Residency
  Questionnaire warns of the consequences of
  providing false information.
• For example Presenting a false record or
  falsifying records is an offense under Section
  37.10, Penal code, and enrollment of the child
  under false documents subjects the person to
  liability for tuition or other costs. TEC Sec.
  25.002(3)(d).
• Immediately start the Dispute Resolution Process

41
Preserving Opportunity for Undocumented Students

• Immigration enforcement may leave undocumented
  students homeless
• Where raids on undocumented populations have
  occurred, children/students are always affected
• In some cases, schools are warned that raids are
  about to occur, and staff can plan for a safe
  place for the children to go when their parents
  have been detained

42
Liaisons May Be Able to Help

• Ensure the district is following federal
  enrollment protections.
• Encourage and assist students who disclose their
  status as undocumented to get legal assistance.
• Ensure that homeless undocumented students whose
  parents have been detained have caregivers or
  know who to call.
• Encourage students to take upper level courses
  and provide scholarship assistance (NASSP
  guidelines, May 2011).

43
Potential Paths to Legal Status Immigrant
Students

• Special Immigrant Juvenile Status path requires
  a student who is unmarried and under 21 years
  meet certain eligibility criteria such as abuse,
  abandonment, maltreatment, etc.
• Asylum path students who have suffered
  persecution at home on the basis of race,
  religion, nationality, political opinion, etc.

44
Potential Paths to Legal Status (cont.)

• Uvisa student has suffered physical or mental
  abuse from a crime and they will be helpful in
  prosecution of that crime
• VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) female
  students who have experienced extreme cruelty
  such as female genital mutilation or similar
  abuse or children of female victims of the same
• T-Visa Students who have been sex trafficked or
  experienced forced labor.

45
SRQs in the Native Language A Sign of Cultural
Courtesy

• The New York City Department of Education has
  SRQs available in English, Arabic, Chinese,
  Korean, Spanish, Bengali, Haitian Creole,
  Russian, and Urdu. The Madison (WS) Metropolitan
  School District has an SRQ in Hmong. Many other
  LEAs provide appropriate translations of
  important forms http//center.serve.org/nche/forum
  /enrollment.php .

46
Shared Fears and Challenges

• Forced Repatriation and retribution in the
  homeland refugees may face forced labor camps,
  prison, and torture
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder common
• Lack of education and basic resources in the home
  country or refugee camps
• Rules and expectations differ in the new land
• Lack of acquaintance with technology.

47
Identifying Homeless Immigrants and Refugees

• Use of SRQ and/or translators in the families
  native language(s).
• Enlist the help of the greater immigrant and
  refugee population do not assume refugees who
  came under a program are remaining stably housed
  or that all immigrants have relatives who can
  help them.

48

• An Increasing Number of both Immigrants and
  Refugees are Becoming Eligible for McKinney-Vento
  Services

49
Services for Immigrant Families within the
Community

• Immigration Legal Services Catholic Charities
  of Central Texas
• Lawyer Referral Service of Central Texas
• Immigration Lawyer Search- American Immigration
  Lawyers Association
• Refugee Services of Texas, Inc.

50
Navigating the Education System

• This is one of the most formidable challenges an
  immigrant or refugee can face.
• Some cultures consider parents entering a
  classroom to be rude behavior.
• Some families that do not have documents or
  records will not even attempt to enroll their
  children in school. Fear can be interpreted as
  lack of interest or motivation.

51
Helping Refugees from Mexico and South America
DISTRICT EXPERIENCE AND QUANDARIES MARIA GREEN,
HOMELESS LIAISON, ROUND ROCK ISD, ROUND ROCK, TX.
52
NCLB (Title III) Guidance

• IMMIGRANT-INDICATOR-CODE indicates whether the
  student is an identified immigrant under the
  definition found under Title III of the No Child
  Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), where the term
  immigrant children and youth is defined as,
  individuals who are aged 3 through 21 were not
  born in any state and have not been attending
  one or more schools in any one or more states for
  more than 3 full academic years. The term
  State means each of the 50 States, the District
  of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
  (See P.L. 107-110 Title III, Part C, 3301(6).)

53
NCLB (Title III) Guidance

• Special Instructions
• Immigrant status under the Title III Language
  Instruction for Limited English Proficient and
  Immigrant Students of the No Child Left Behind
  Act of 2001, should not be confused with
  immigrant status as defined for the Department of
  Homeland Security (DHS). Districts should not
  assume responsibility for determining the extent
  to which students are legal or illegal immigrants
  under DHS regulations. Definition of immigrant
  should not be confused with definition used for
  state assessment purposes or definition used for
  student eligibility to English I for Speakers of
  Other Languages or English II for Speakers of
  Other Languages taught in high school.
  
  
  
• Texas is required to use the federal definition
  under Title III of NCLB in order to determine
  immigrant student counts for funding and for
  coding in PEIMS. Contact the NCLB Program
  Coordination Division for clarifications
  regarding immigrant status at 512-463-9374.

54
Public Education Information System (PEIMS) for
Texas Public Schools
55
Public Education Information System (PEIMS) for
Texas Public Schools
56
Identifying Homeless Immigrants and Refugees
within the ISD

• Use of SRQs and the intake process to provide
  services through Families In Transition (FiT)
  program
• Notification to campus contact regarding the
  eligibility status of student
• Progress monitoring of students for the duration
  of the school year

57
Student Residency Questionnaire
58
Intake Process and Services
59
Intake Process and Services
60
Intake Process and Services