Successful founding meeting of the 

California-Mexico Dreamers' Network

CMSC's official signing of academic collaboration agreement with COLEF

The California-Mexico Studies Center (CMSC) is proud to announce the official signing of an academic collaboration between the Colegio de la Frontera Norte (COLEF) and the CMSC.

As you may recall from a previous newsletter, on February 9, 2017 the California-Mexico Studies Center had the honor to welcome a group of 10 faculty and graduate students from COLEF who visited the CMSC headquarters and California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), as well as the Port of Long Beach and City Hall.

The delegation was led by Dr. Ana Maria Lopez Jaramillo, director of the Masters in Population Studies at the prestigious COLEF, along with post-doctoral visiting scholar Dr. Rodrigo Aguilar. Moreover, the delegation was composed of 8 master students with a diverse undergraduate background who are conducting research in various aspects related to population and U.S.-Mexico border studies.

The short academic trip was the first exchange towards a permanent academic collaboration between COLEF and the CMSC, building upon the successful International Seminar on Migration and Public Policy: Challenges Facing Immigrants in the US and Mexico in 2017 organized between the CMSC and COLEF on November 17, 2016 at COLEF's main campus in Tijuana, Baja California.

The collaboration seeks to enhance the teaching, mobility and exchange of faculty, students, and professionals between California and Mexico, with the vision of a broad collaboration with Los Angeles-area colleges and universities on California-Mexico policies.

In light of the post-election political climate, the CMSC and COLEF initiative will seek to address the impact of Obama and Trump deportation policies and consequences upon binational immigrant communities and the separation of families. This will include seminars such as the CMSC's Policy Roundtable and Community Forum on Dreamers and U.S. Citizen Children exiled in Mexico and Central America, and a major international conference on all sectors of deported immigrants and their families, tentatively scheduled for August 17 and 18, 2017 at COLEF's Tijuana campus. In particular, the conference will feature a significant number of Dreamers as speakers, panelists, and facilitators, provided that the status of DACA and Advance Parole remain unchanged.

In the near future, the CMSC will announce a new short-term study abroad program for Dreamers to participate in the proposed international conference and other educational activities at COLEF, through the Advance Parole provision of DACA.

Read more on our latest newsletter: http://conta.cc/2mj9SaJ