Being undocumented isn’t something many students like to share. It’s personal and students don’t want others to know that kind of private information about them. Miguel De Los Santos, 21, is not one of those people. De Los Santos, a Mexican native and current Queens resident, is open to speak about his legal status and is the president of the new Dream Team at Baruch.
Although not technically a new club, the Dream Team at Baruch is starting fresh with a new president and new executive board. The previous president stepped down due to inactivity of the club.
“We don’t exist right now actually,” replied De Los Santos when asked the status of the club. “We technically don’t exist because we weren’t active. But we will be,” he added eagerly.
With countless possible events on the horizon, such as informative sessions regarding scholarships, advanced parole, an Open Mic Night and a “Know Your Rights” event, De Los Santos’ mind is racing with ideas about which events to hold first.
With the recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, prospective members face minor fears about new joining the club. “Other students might get an iffy feeling, not necessarily scared,” said De Los Santos. But if change is going to happen, undocumented and documented students have to come together.
“The point of the club is to provide resources and opportunities that undocumented students may otherwise be unaware of. We want to create a community where students, no matter their immigration status, can succeed,” said De Los Santos.
Currently, there is not an official number of how many students are members of the club, thanks to the open policy of the current president. Anyone can join the club, regardless of legal status, which is not the case everywhere.
“Some other Dream Teams at other campuses require you to go to a certain number of meetings, but I think three shouldn’t be a requirement. If you’re interested, just come. It’s going to be big,” said De Los Santos.
The number of students joining the club is expected to grow as De Los Santos and others post on social media about the group and hangs up fliers around campus.
De Los Santos may have just become the president, but he is not new to the fight for undocumented students. He is also a member of the CUNY DREAMers, a similar student-led organization that advocates for undocumented students across all the CUNY campuses.
The CUNY DREAMers have a larger executive board and share information with the Dream Teams across all campuses. Two of the more successful events hosted by this group have been the 2nd Annual CUNY Dreamers Conference, where information was distributed throughout the day followed by panel discussions and the Coming Out of the Shadows event, where undocumented students got to share their stories with a room full of supporters.
