CUNY-IIE hosted a webinar featuring a panel of experts, including educators, education officials, and scholars. This webinar explored the barriers faced by undocumented immigrants pursuing careers in education, the implications of immigration policies, and potential solutions to enhance access to teacher certification and employment in New York State.
Topics included the current teacher shortage's impact on bilingual students, the fingerprinting process, and potential solutions. In light of the new administration's policies, state-level actions will become even more crucial to support undocumented educators. This conversation highlighted how state policies can play a pivotal role in shaping pathways to education careers for aspiring educators, regardless of their immigration status.
Panelists included:
Assemblymember Catalina Cruz, Assembly District 39
Farah Said, immigrant educator
Janet Calvo, Professor of Law, CUNY School of Law
Mahir Sadad, Core Member, RAISE NYC
Tamara Alsace, Associate Investigator, CUNY-IIE
SPEAKER BIOS:
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Janet Calvo, Professor of Law: At CUNY School of Law she teaches Immigration and Nationality Law, Citizenship, The Rights of Non-Citizens, The Health Law Concentration, Public Health Law and Health Policy, Civil Procedure, Pre trial advocacy and Lawyering. She has also taught Public Health and Health Care Law at CUNY School of Public Health. Before teaching at CUNY, she was on the clinical faculty of New York University and Director of the Urban Law Clinic, and an attorney at the Civil Appeals and Law Reform and Trial Office of Legal Aid Society, New York New York . She is a graduate of New York University School of Law.
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Catalina Cruz represents New York State Assembly District 39, one of the most diverse districts in the nation, encompassing the neighborhoods of Corona, Elmhurst and Jackson Heights, as well as parts of Middle Village and Rego Park.
Catalina was born in Colombia and came to Queens at the age of 9. She grew up as a DREAMer, living in the United States for more than 10 years as an undocumented American. Catalina was raised by a single mother who, like many immigrants, had to work multiple and menial jobs to support her family. Catalina has committed her career to fighting to ensure our workers, neighbors and families not only survive, but thrive. She is an experienced attorney and a leader for tenant protections, immigration reform and workers’ rights.
Catalina lives in Jackson Heights, Queens. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a Juris Doctor from the City University of New York’s School of Law. She is admitted to practice law in the State of New York.
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Farah Said immigrated to the United States from Cairo, Egypt at the age of 15 in 2008. She graduated high school with the highest honors in 2011. After being accepted into the Education Program at CCNY, and after finishing all credits for her Childhood Education major and taking all courses for her elementary mathematics concentration, she was harshly confronted with the reality that without qualifying for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program (DACA), she was barred from student teaching and thereby from completing her degree. She did not qualify for DACA because she had arrived to the United States a year later than the cut-off date. Farah switched gears on her dreams, graduating with an Interdisciplinary Studies of Arts and Science major, concentrating in Literary, Media and Arts from the Center for Worker Education at CCNY in 2018. She successfully obtained her M.A. certification in Bilingual Education from CCNY in June 2023 after the NYSED released new guidance allowing undocumented students enrolled in education programs to do fieldwork, take State certification exams, and/or student teach in certain schools in New York State. She is now working as a 4th grade classroom teacher at a private school.
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Born in Bangladesh, Mahir is a Macaulay Honors graduate at Queens College, CUNY. As a first-generation undocu-college graduate, he has built his academic and professional journey around uplifting and supporting other undocumented and immigrant students. Currently, Mahir is a College & Career Advisor through CUNY K16 Initiatives, supporting high school students in navigating their post-secondary journey. Outside of work, Mahir is a Core Member at RAISE, a pan-Asian undocumented group based on the East Coast.
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Tamara (Tammy) Alsace, PhD is retired from the Buffalo Public Schools, where she held various positions during her 32+ year career, including as a bilingual elementary and special education teacher, professional development specialist, and as Director of Multilingual Education. In that role, she directed the bilingual, ESOL, & world languages programs. Since retiring, she has worked as a consultant for the Regional Bilingual Ed Resource Network (RBE-RN), the Council of the Great City Schools, and the American Reading Company. Dr. Alsace also serves on several non-profit boards and is active in professional & community organizations in Buffalo and at the state and national levels. A tireless advocate for the educational rights of multilingual/immigrant students and their families, she is a past president of the NYS Association for Bilingual Education (NYSABE) and part of the current leadership team of NY Advocates for Fair/Inclusive Resources for Multilingual Learners (NY-AFFIRMS).
