Immigration and Education in the US and Mexico: A Multimodal Approach to Transcending Borders

Schools are directly impacted by the current political content when it comes to immigration. And while some settings address these issues head on with students and families, others are less likely to support and teach about current immigration issues as they connect to and impact the people in their schools and communities. The first part of this presentation will look at the current immigration policies and realities under the Trump administration and share a series of videos and a resource guide for educators to ensure schools doing right by immigrants in these turbulent times.

Because migration is not a linear process, the second part of this presentation will including film and photography as a way of showing how students who experience cyclical migration between the US and Mexico navigate border in their homes, schools and communities. It will show how they develop a sense of identity and belonging, even when they are made to feel they are not “enough” in either context. Implications for educators around how schools and classrooms can be places where students can transborder will be discussed as a way to respond to the lived realities of our diverse students.

Tatyana Kleyn is Associate Professor and Director of the Bilingual Education and TESOL Programs at The City College of New York, as well as the Principal Investigator for the CUNY Initiative on Immigration and Education. She received an Ed.D. at Teachers College, Columbia University. Tatyana served as president of the New York State Association for Bilingual Education and was a Fulbright Scholar in Oaxaca, Mexico. Tatyana has authored books on translanguaging, bilingual education and immigration. In the film realm, Tatyana has produced and directed the “Living Undocumented Series,” “Una Vida, Dos Países: Children and Youth (Back) in Mexico” and the “Supporting Immigrants in Schools” video series.