LONG BEACH - On Saturday February 4, 2017, the California-Mexico Studies Center (CMSC) convened the first "re-encuentro" meeting of the Winter 2016 California-Mexico Dreamers Study Abroad Program participants after their return to the United States last month.
The re-encuentro gave the CMD Winter 2016 participants a chance to reconnect and reflect upon their re-entry to the U.S., but also, to participate in a psychological intervention with Dr. Maria del Refugio Valero Cuevas, head of a team of psychologists known as Horizonte Básico, which has provided the CMSC with therapy sessions for our Dreamers while studying abroad in Mexico.
Dr. Valero Cuevas' group intervention was an emotional, empowering, and much-needed psychological session meant to help Dreamers to integrate back into their life in the U.S., and to cope with their newly found emotions after their short, but meaningful trip to their country of birth Mexico.
At the end of the psychological intervention, the California-Mexico Dreamers came together to support one another and committed to form a 'safe social circle' that would embody the message of "nuestra existencia vale más que la políticas" (our existence is more valuable than politics); a defense statement to cope with, and resist the current anti-immigrant political turmoil. Regardless of the status of DACA under President Trump's Administration, these California-Mexico Dreamers committed to move forward with various projects and programs meant to inform and create a positive impact on immigrant communities in both the U.S. and in Mexico.
Moreover, the CMSC, in collaboration with the Winter 2016 California-Mexico Dreamers, plan to organize and call upon participants from all four previous CMD study abroad programs to plan and develop the first California-Mexico Dreamers' Network Summit to be held on May 13, 2017.
Furthermore, the CMD's Network Summit will become the launching platform of the Dreamers INE Voters Credential Registration Campaign (Proyecto de Empadronamiento de Dreamers y Familias de la Credencial Electoral INE), the development of a California-Mexico Dreamers Mobilization Plan against mass deportations and the possible termination of DACA, as well as to continue to develop and promote Dreamers Study Abroad programs in colleges and universities throughout California and the United States.
Learn more about our Dreamers Study Abroad Programs here and also, sign up for our newsletter to get the latest updates on our program.
Legacy and Leadership: The Long Beach Ethnic Studies Programis a 30-minute documentary that features how the LBUSD offers their students the opportunity to take tuition-free college credit Ethnic Studies courses while in High School. The Long Beach Ethnic Studies Program is a collaboration between the LBUSD and CSU Long Beach, building upon the Long Beach College Promise. The program offers up to 12 CSULB classes each semester on Saturdays at 6 of the LBUSD high schools, on Chicano and Latino Studies, Africana Studies, Asian & Asian American Studies and American Indian Studies.
Associated Press Features a California-Mexico Dreamer's Journey:
Also, read the full article published by The Associated Press about our Winter 2016 California-Mexico Dreamers Study Abroad Program. The article features the powerful human stories from some of our participants as they returned to Mexico and reunited with their family and roots after many years of seperation.
