CUNY DREAMers Find Support with the Dream Team
After writing “Michael Wang, sophomore, psychology major” on a sign-up sheet, the Queens College student put on a blindfold before being led into a pitch-dark room full of students he didn’t know.
Wang was not the only one. Dozens of other students were there for “Conversations in the Dark,” an event hosted by the Queens College Dream Team. The group provides support and information for Dreamers.
Wang, a U.S. citizen, was seated at a table, and began asking questions of a DACA student he couldn’t see. They changed seats every 10 minutes, and were seated again by event facilitators before finally getting the piece of cloth removed — never knowing whom they’ve talked to.
Discussions ranged from quiz-like questions from the requirements undocumented students need to meet to become DACA recipients, to possible immigration changes the Trump administration will likely impose, according to Wang.
“It was a powerful event,” Wang said. “I was more informed about topics of immigration, and was able to show verbal support to my DREAMer friends.”
That was exactly what the team wanted, said Guadalupe Muller, a 21-year-old junior at Queens College and president of the Dream Team.
“When you are undocumented, you fear judgment,” said Muller. “But in events like these, we often found people not afraid of speaking their minds.”
Among the 30 or so students at the event, more than half weren’t DACA students. But Wang and others thought it would be a good way to show support for DREAMers.
The Queens College Dream Team is one of the eight CUNY schools with student clubs for DREAMers. Founded in 2012 by two DREAMers and an ally, the Dream Team’s goal was, and still is, simple: “Raise awareness and support for the DREAMers on campus, and have a good rapport with DREAMers’ allies,” said Kevin Guzman Iglesias, co-founder of the Dream Team. Iglesias is not a DACA recipient.
For DACA students, the club provides an intimate space for them to share concerns, get information, and find emotional support.
Since Trump announced last September that the DACA program would be ending, the Dream Team has hosted information sessions on how Dreamers could get financial or legal support.
Dulce Hernandez, a senior DACA student at Queens College who was originally from Mexico, said she was thankful for the support.
“I was informed of all the things DACA students can get, like a study-abroad program that undocumented students can apply to,” said Hernandez. “I simply enjoyed the company of other DREAMers and allies on campus.”
Sociology Professor Amy Hsin at Queens College said that the Dream Team is especially important given the confusion over the nation’s immigration policy.
“Many of our DREAMers only learned about resources and renewal info through organizations like the Dream Team,” said Hsin.
The March 5 deadline, which Trump set for Congress to come up with a DACA fix, has passed, and Dreamers remain in limbo.
Despite the ambiguity, there is one single thing that has not changed for Muller.
Said, “I choose to stay hopeful. So does the Dream Team.”
