A public university in Washington state is seeking to hire an individual focused solely on overseeing various issues that pertain to illegal immigrant students attending the university.
The University of Washington-Bothell has posted an advertisement for the position of “Undocumented Focused Program Manager” in the Student Diversity Center of the university.
According to the job listing, the position will be focused on expanding outreach to the undocumented student community, as well as recruiting and training student “allies” using the best available practices at a national level.
Individuals will “design, coordinate, and deliver educational, cultural workshops and events which focus on diversity, inclusion and social justice, with an emphasis in programming and advocacy for undocumented student populations,” the listing reads. Additionally, the “Undocumented Focused Program Manager” will be responsible for designing “curriculum for undocumented ally training that is UW-Bothell focused and draws from national best practices.”
The undocumented program manager will also serve as a “subject matter expert,” which pertains to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program as well as federal immigration law and policy. Despite any plans by UW-Bothell for expanding all available opportunities for DACA students, last September, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Trump administration was beginning the process of phasing out the DACA program, which had been implemented by executive order under the Obama administration.
While the university appears to be ratcheting up their efforts to assist undocumented students, regular students are starting to feel the pinch.
Last week, the University of Washington Board of Regents approved a $218 tuition increase for in-state student tuition at the UW-Bothell, Seattle, and Tacoma campuses for the upcoming 2018-2019 school year. The tuition increase is in addition to the more than $1,000 in student “fees” that students attending any of the three campuses are required to pay each year.
While the idea of a public university hiring an individual solely focused on assisting undocumented students may seem bizarre, UW-Bothell is not the first public university to promote such a position. Last year, in response to student demands, the University of Maryland – College Park also announced that they were hiring a student coordinator devoted solely to assisting the needs of undocumented students.
