U Maryland's 'UndocuTraining' instructs students and staff to 'welcome' illegal immigrants on campus
A public university located in College Park, Maryland currently features an office dedicated to illegal immigrant students.
As part of the program, university administrators recommend the campus community use the term 'UndocuTerp' to refer to students who are non-citizens.
A public university located in College Park, Maryland currently features an office dedicated to illegal immigrant students.
The University of Maryland is offering a resource called the Office of Immigrant and Undocumented Student Life (IUSL). Part of its mission is to “support faculty/staff with training on the assets, challenges, and advocacy needed for undocumented students on campus.”
The training in question is referred to as “UndocuTraining” and faculty and staff can be added to a waitlist by request. UndocuTraining can also be requested for an entire department as well.
As part of the program, university administrators recommend the campus community use the term “UndocuTerp” to refer to students who are non-citizens, an apparent reference to the school’s terrapin mascot. The purpose of this is to “navigate away from the negative connotations given to terms such as undocumented, immigrant, non-U.S. citizen and so forth.”
The Office of Immigrant and Undocumented Student Life encourages seven actions that faculty and staff can take in order to create a more “welcoming” environment for undocumented students, including “Do not inquire about a student’s immigration status, “Convey openness and assurance of confidentiality,” “Consider establishing welcoming spaces” and “Use inclusive language.”
The office also recommends that Maryland community members also “Learn the facts” about illegal immigrant students, “Be sensitive to the limits that undocumented students face” and “Donate.”
“Language such as ‘undocumented student’ ‘undocumented immigrant’ ‘people without documents,’ or ‘people without legal status,’” are especially recommended by the office. “The term ‘illegal alien’ is derogatory and dehumanizing and will make students feel unwelcome,” it also states.
Such students are eligible for in-state tuition rates under certain circumstances due to the Maryland Dream Act. Illegal alien students are also eligible for state financial aid in the form of grants and scholarships.
A “Dream Gala” is also hosted by the office, which serves as a “celebratory event … that focuses on the concept of existence as resilience and fostering joy among immigrant students and allies.”
The Office of Immigrant and Undocumented Student Life even provides a terminology sheet for various immigration-related words and phrases, such as “Asylum Seekers,” “Cultural/Performative Citizen,” “Deportation,” “Humanitarian Parole” and “Overstayed Visa.”
The document refers to the word “Illegal” as the “I-word,” and defines it as “a racially charged slur used to dehumanize and discriminate against immigrants and people of color regardless of migratory status.
Campus Reform has contacted the University of Maryland for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
