Summer 2021 California-Mexico Dreamers Study Abroad Program

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

• Update 2/4/2021: As of Thursday, February 4, 2021 at 12:00 AM PST, The California-Mexico Studies Center (CMSC) has closed the application period for our Summer 2021 California-Mexico Dreamers Study Abroad Program. The CMSC has reached the number of applicants we are able to review and consider, and will not take in any new applications after this date. For those applicants that already submitted their online application and who have not sent their Letter of Recommendation (LOR), you still have until Feb. 14, 2021 at 11:59 PM PST to submit it.

• If you didn't make our deadline, we encourage you to sign up to our newsletter and to connect with us on social media to stay up to date when we announce future programs.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

The CMSC’s Summer 2021 California-Mexico Dreamers’ Study Abroad Program will offer three 4-week sessions from July 15 to August 22, 2021, with each cohort composed of 40 DACA recipients, who have secured USCIS Advance Parole travel authorization for educational purposes through our program.

During each 4-week travel-study experience, the participating Dreamers will be immersed into a comprehensive language and cultural educational program organized by the CMSC in collaboration with Colegio de la Frontera Norte (COLEF) and hosted by the Centro Internacional de Lenguas, Arte y Cultura Paulo Freire (CILAC Freire), our 20-year partner institution in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. This month-long educational program will consist of historical, cultural, linguistic, and academic lectures (cátedras) on social movements, the Mexican educational, economic and political systems, various museum and archeological visits, with a leadership development focus.  

Moreover, selected participants will have the opportunity to participate in seminars on Chicano Studies and the Mexican Diaspora, Public Policy Planning and Collaboration between California and Mexico and Los Angeles and Mexico City; and the evolving U.S.-Mexico relationship under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) under the new Joe Biden/Kamala Harris administration.  

Program participants will also have a unique opportunity to conduct independent travel and ethnographic research on their family origins, which will allow Dreamers to visit their birthplace for 2-3 weeks, and will be required to produce a 10-page ethnographic-research paper based on their findings. A selection of these research papers will be published by the CMSC and provide human stories to script narratives for documentaries and academic presentations.

Moreover, we encourage Dreamers from anywhere in the world to apply as well, as long as they are fluent Spanish-speakers, given that the entire program will be taught in Spanish.

Dreamers living anywhere in the continental U.S. are welcome to apply. Moreover, we encourage Dreamers from other countries to apply, as long as they are fluent Spanish-speakers, given that the entire program will be taught in Spanish.

PROGRAM OBJECTIVES:

• To research, develop, promote, and establish policies and programs between higher educational institutions and cultural organizations that will enhance the teaching, mobility and exchange of faculty, students, and professionals between California and the U.S. with Mexico and other nations in the Western Hemisphere.
• Establish the administrative framework for a replicable educational program model for Dreamers’ Study Abroad Programs at other colleges and universities through the DACA-Advance Parole process that can be reproduced by any U.S. institution of Higher Education;
• Prepare participating Dreamers as ambassadors of the model, for them to replicate similar programs at their own colleges and universities, based on their personal experience;
• Continue and expand video and photo documentation of Dreamers’ human stories;
• Allow Dreamers to conduct independent travel-study family ethnographic research in their communities of origin with their family and relatives, and to discover their roots in Mexico on their own.

PROGRAM COST:

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the CMSC and CILAC Freire are taking extra measures to ensure participants' health and safety during our program abroad. Therefore, we have increased the program fee to prepare for and cover those extra costs. 

Selected participants will be required to pay for the following fees in order to participate in our program:

• Program fee $3,000: A $500 non-refundable deposit is due upon applicant's acceptance into the program, then the rest of the program fee ($2,500) will be paid to The California-Mexico Studies Center, Inc. upon approval of applicant's Advance Parole (I-131) application.
• Advance Parole Travel Permit fee $575: to be paid to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security upon sending in the I-131 application.

BREAKDOWN OF STUDY ABROAD PROGRAM DATES:

GROUP 1: Travel dates from July 15 - August 8, 2021

• Independent Travel and Ethnographic Research: July 15 to August 1, 2021
• Academic program hosted by CILAC Freire (Cuernavaca): August 2-8, 2021
  • Includes historical and cultural field trips to Mexico City, Teotihuacan, Cuernavaca and Tepoztlán. 
• Return to the US: August 8, 2021

GROUP 2: Travel dates from July 18 - August 15, 2021

• Independent Travel and Ethnographic Research: July 18 to August 8, 2021
• Academic program at CILAC Freire (Cuernavaca): August 9-15, 2021
  • Includes historical and cultural field trips to Mexico City, Teotihuacan, Cuernavaca and Tepoztlán.

• Return to the US: August 15, 2021

GROUP 3: Travel dates from July 26 - August 22, 2021

• Independent Travel and Ethnographic Research: July 26 - August 15, 2021
• Academic program at CILAC Freire (Cuernavaca): August 16-22, 2021 
  • Includes historical and cultural field trips to Mexico City, Teotihuacan, Cuernavaca and Tepoztlán.

• Return to the US: August 22, 2021

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

To be eligible for consideration to our program, applicants must meet the following requirements:

• Be 21 years-old or older at the time of travel, and speak fluent Spanish.
• Have an active DACA status with an expiration date after Sept. 30, 2021.
• Have a valid passport from the respective country of origin.
• If the applicant is Mexican-born, they must commit to apply to, and attain the Instituto Nacional Electoral’s (INE) Credencial para Votar en el Extranjero before traveling to Mexico. Click here to follow instructions to apply for an INE Card.
• Must have no criminal or immigration record.
• Must participate in ALL PROGRAM activities.
• Must test for COVID-19, 3 days prior to departure to Mexico and 3 days before arriving in Mexico City for the academic program and returning to the U.S. Participants must pay for all their COVID-19 testing and for vaccination, if available. 
• Must be able to pay the $3,000 program fees and the USCIS $575 Advance Parole permit travel fee.

INCLUDED IN THE $3,000 PROGRAM FEE:

• Advance Parole application preparation, legal advice and filing assistance.
• Spanish and Mexican culture instruction by CILAC Freire Institute and Chicano Studies and Mexican Diaspora Catedras by CMSC Lecturers.
• All housing in individual rooms, meals, field-trips during the academic program. Also, CMSC will provide medical, emergency and travel insurance during each program session.
• Due to the COVID pandemic, the CMSC will provide a private doctor’s care and/or medical referral assistance throughout the program.  
• Local transportation and lawful group re-entry into the U.S.
• A chance for Dreamers to visit their birthplace, conduct family ethnographic research, and discover Mexico independently.
• Psychological counseling and group therapy sessions before, during, and after the program.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS:

To be considered for acceptance into our program, applicants must complete a three-step application process which requires the following:

• STEP 1: Complete and submit the online application form, and one letter of recommendation by no later than:  February 3, 2021. 
• STEP 2: Attend a Skype/Zoom interview between January 18 and February 19, 2021, as scheduled by CMSC Staff after you submit your application and letter of recommendation. 
• STEP 3: Send a Letter of Recommendation. You must email us one letter of recommendation from any of the following references: an employer or a professional reference, a professor, academic advisor/counselor, dean, department chair, church or community leader. If you have previously applied to any of our California-Mexico Dreamers Study Abroad Program, you may resubmit your previous Letter of Recommendation.

Please email your letter to info@calmexcenter.org by February 14, 2021 and name your file in the following format: FirstName_LastName_LOR. If your reference is sending it directly to us, have them follow the same guidelines.

Personal Statement of Purpose: As you complete the application form, you will be required to provide a statement addressing the following two questions:

1. Explain why you are interested in participating in our program, and
2. Elaborate on one or more of the following "pay-it-forward" projects that you would be interested to work on before, or upon your return:

• Create a similar California-Mexico Study Abroad program at your college or university;
• Develop a project to assist other Dreamers at your campus or community (ex: establish a Dreamers’ Resource Center, undocumented students organization/club, etc.).
• Work or volunteer at a community-based organization to provide immigration services. (Ex: DACA and Advance Parole assistance, U.S. citizenship and voter registration, etc.)
• Take leadership in your community to advocate for a path to citizenship and legalization of all undocumented immigrants that were in the U.S. and lived through the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020
• Or, propose a project that will benefit undocumented immigrants which you would like to develop and implement after the travel-study experience.

These statements should be a minimum of 200+ words, which will be completed at the time you fill out the form.

Important note: Please take into consideration that the Advance Parole application approval process time can vary from 1 to 5 months, thus, we will give preference to those applicants who are quick to submit their completed online application and letter of recommendation. We will consider everyone who applies within the application period from January 15 to February 14, 2021, but we will review applications and select applicants on a first-come, first-served basis. Thus, we highly encourage you to apply and submit your letter of recommendation as soon as possible. Please do not wait until the last minute.

APPLICATION FORM:

Before you apply: The CMSC requires that ALL APPLICANTS call the U.S. Immigration Court Automated Hotline to verify that you don't have an immigration record that might jeopardize your safe return to the U.S. For instructions on how to call the automated hotline please click here.

To apply to the program fill out the following form or click on this link that takes you to the online application.

Also, make sure to check out our Frequently Asked Questions Page in case you have any questions prior to applying.

DEADLINES AND IMPORTANT DATES:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

If you have any questions or need assistance with the application process, visit the Frequently Asked Questions page or call our CMSC Office: (562) 430-5541, or email us at: info@calmexcenter.org

Also, please plan to join us on a Facebook Live information session on January 23, 2021 at 10 am PST, where we will answer questions, comments and concerns about our CMD Summer 2021 program.

DISCLAIMERS:

Disclaimer for cancellation of the program:

The CMSC reserves the responsibility and final decision to cancel the program activities in Mexico at any time, if the health and safety conditions in Mexico are not favorable to travel during that time period due to the COVID pandemic, or for any cause that we consider to be untenable for the participants and the organization. The CMSC will refund the $2500 program fees to all participants if the CMSC decides to cancel the program.

Moreover, if the program is cancelled, all participants that have secured an Advance Parole travel authorization (I-131) by USCIS will be free to travel and return to the U.S. on their own schedule and expense. But since the Advance Parole permit will be for an educational purpose, the CMSC would arrange a special academic program to meet the purpose of the Advance Parole authorization and facilitate the safe return to the U.S. as small groups or individually. However, this will require that participants agree to pay a $500 fee to the CMSC to cover the program’s staffing and related costs.

All participants that choose this option will be required to have completed their Family Ethnographic Research paper and present it at a seminar, conference, class or online to the CMSC, to document completion of the educational purpose of the Advance Parole permit.  

COVID-19 testing and preventive behavior requirements:

All participants of the program must agree to pay for and provide the CMSC proof of vaccination (if available) and testing for the COVID-19 virus within 3 days prior to departure from the U.S., and within 3 days prior to arrival at Mexico City for the academic program and return to the U.S. from Mexico. All participants must always follow strictly the preventive best practices for protection from the COVID-19 virus. This includes but not limited to frequent washing of the hands, protective face mask and latex gloves, social distancing and avoiding large gatherings and events, physical contact and long periods of time in enclosed areas even with only a few people.

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