The California Community Colleges Dreamers Project aims to help the Chancellor’s Office and the 115 California Community Colleges effectively serve undocumented students, especially in light of recent changes to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and tense political climate for immigrants. The project seeks to lay the groundwork for a longer-term program to implement strategies that will meet undocumented students’ needs. Project goals include:

• initiate a collaborative planning process that allows the CCC system to respond nimbly to the evolving needs of undocumented students given recent changes to and uncertainties about DACA policies.
• elevate promising practices and emerging resources that help colleges better serve their undocumented students, and also identify and address shared challenges.

The Dreamers Project is supported by a grant from The James Irvine Foundation, and includes a landscape analysis undertaken through an online survey of community colleges and four regional meetings, as well as guidance from an Advisory Group and a final report (below).

Serving the largest number of undocumented students in the state, California Community Colleges are committed to serving all students, regardless of immigration status. Undocumented Student Action Week, October 14-18, 2019, is a systemwide campaign to advocate and provide support resources for our undocumented student population. During the week, California’s community colleges are encouraged to engage in advocacy and support efforts in solidarity with undocumented students throughout the state. 

Undocumented Student Action Week is supported statewide by the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, the Community College League of California, the Foundation for California Community Colleges, Immigrants Rising, and the Student Senate for California Community Colleges.

The Action Week partners have developed a toolkit of suggested activities which colleges can tailor to meet the specific needs of their campus. During the week, a series of webinars will be available to provide additional support and information for undocumented students and faculty and staff at California's community colleges. These materials, resources and additional information can be found by visiting the Community College League of California website. 

The California Community Colleges Dreamers Project culminated in a final report, titled ‘Strengthening Institutional Practices To Support Undocumented Student Success.’ The complete report discusses the state of undocumented students at California Community Colleges, incorporating findings from a landscape analysis to identify shared challenges in serving this vulnerable population. Recommendations about how to better serve undocumented students, paired with promising practices already underway, are provided for implementation at the individual, group, and institutional levels for systemic change that benefits California.

View the Executive Summary >

View the Complete Report >

Download Dreamers Project findings and recommendations for:

Administrators >

Financial Aid >

DRC Coordinators >

Students >

For additional resources such as promising practices, and to engage with peers across the CCC system, please join the ‘Supporting Undocumented Students’ topic within the Equity Community in the CCCCO Vision Resource Center at https://visionresourcecenter.cccco.edu/.

The Community College Legal Services Project provides free immigration legal services, including education and outreach services for undocumented students, staff, and faculty on California community college campuses.

A Request for Information (RFI) is currently available to gather information from California community colleges about their capacity to host legal services for students at respective campuses. RFI responses provided by community colleges will be used to designate hub colleges. The Foundation invites your college to participate in the Request for Information process for legal services.

Request for Information packet >

Request for Information form >

Submit a lead contact >

View the webinar >