Empowered and educated: How an immigration service-learning course influenced students’ paths toward critical consciousness

Abstract

In this qualitative case study, using Freire’s theory of critical consciousness development, we examined the influence of a 1-credit immigration policy service-learning course on college students’ motivations to act against immigration injustices. We found that after witnessing immigration issues at the Lower Rio Grande Valley area in Texas, participants felt compelled to advocate for immigrant communities. Also, by engaging in a critical analysis of systemic discrimination and ongoing reflections of their social locations, participants saw possibilities for both micro- and macro-level actions they could take to support immigrants and refugees. However, while participants felt an urge to act at the macro-level, they felt limited and powerless without additional credentials, such as law degrees. Participants perceived that to foster changes at a macro-level, they needed to further their education; thus, they focused their immediate efforts on micro-level actions, such as talking to family and friends about immigration policy issues.

Keywords:

• Service-learning course
• critical consciousness development
• immigration
• case study

Acknowledgements

Dr. Robert Koulish who advocated for the course at the center of this case study to be offered at a public university in Maryland. We also thank all the students who opted into the study and shared their reflections with us. Lastly, we acknowledge all the immigrants and refugees in the Lower Rio Grande Valley area who engaged with students throughout the course and shared their stories of immigration injustices. Without their revelations, students participating in the course would not have been able to experience critical service-learning.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 In January 2019, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) implemented the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) and stated that the MPP aims to provide undocumented immigrants humanitarian protection in Mexico while they wait for their immigration proceedings. DHS also stated that the MPP program “helps restore a safe and orderly immigration process by reducing the incentive for aliens to attempt illegal entry and/or make meritless claims for relief or protection from removal” (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2020).

2 “Streamline is an initiative to criminally prosecute individuals who illegally enter the United States through defined geographic regions along the Southwest border” (U.S Department of Homeland Security, 2015).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Cinthya Salazar

Cinthya Salazar is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education Administration at Texas A&M University. Dr. Salazar’s research centers on the college access, persistence, and success of undocumented students in the United States.

Kassidy Shaye Giles

Kassidy Shaye Giles is a doctoral student pursuing a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration at Texas A&M University. Her research interests include student development, student success, and social justice initiatives with the hopes of contributing to developing equitable higher education spaces and practices.

Jennifer Ruth Ackerman

Jennifer Ruth Ackerman is a doctoral student pursuing a Higher Education Administration degree at Texas A&M University. Her dissertation research is focusing on how underrepresented students navigate the STEM environment to access, persist, and succeed in the field.