Los Angeles middle school teacher Miriam Gonzalez is among many educators who have been helping undocumented students cope with anxieties about recent news reports that they or their families may be at greater risk of deportation. However, Gonzalez has special insight on those anxieties and strong connections with those students because she — like them — was brought to this country by undocumented parents.

Her need to connect with those students has grown in the wake of the Trump administration’s Sept. 5 announcement that it is phasing out Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program that has protected nearly 800,000 foreign-born sons and daughters of undocumented parents from deportation.  That announcement prompted Gonzalez — a DACA recipient — to lead classrooms discussions about immigration issues.

"I want my students to be critical thinkers when it comes to complex immigration issues," Gonzalez said. "I want students to know our story."

Gonzalez, in her second year as a Teach for America teacher at Crown Preparatory Academy, a charter middle school in Los Angeles, is one of thousands of teachers nationally who are DACA recipients. DACA, authorized by President Barack Obama in 2012, allowed certain undocumented young people who were brought to this country under the age of 16 to apply for two-year work permits and be protected from deportation during that time. The permits were designed to be renewed indefinitely but did not provide a path to citizenship.

About 20,000 teachers nationwide are DACA-eligible according to a study by the Migration Policy Institute (MPI). The MPI study, conducted on behalf of Univision in 2016, is based on an analysis of an annual census survey that contains data including country of origin, English proficiency and length of residency in the United States. The institute says it uses the term "DACA-eligible" because some of those teachers may have found other ways to obtain work permits.

Read the full article about DACA teachers easing anxiety of undocumented students by George White at edsource.org.