Research program provides resources for undocumented students

Students in a program that provides otherwise unavailable funding to undocumented students will present their research findings Thursday afternoon in Powell Library.

Ruth Batres said she discovered the UndocuBruins Research Program at UCLA and realized it was an opportunity for her to conduct research and spread awareness about violence against women in her hometown, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.

“I wanted to do something to help my aunt and my cousin and others like them,” said Batres, an undocumented fourth-year Latin American studies student.

The UndocuBruins Research Program is a two-quarter research and graduate school preparation program that provides research funding for undocumented UCLA students, said Yadira Valencia, cohort coordinator of the UndocuBruins Research Program. Undocumented students are ineligible for federal funding and other research programs.

The program’s scholars will present their research for the first time at an Undergraduate Research Week event Thursday afternoon.

Batres said she applied to the UndocuBruins program because as an undocumented student she was not eligible for the McNair Research Scholars program, a two-year research-based program that prepares students for graduate school.

Valencia said there are currently 10 undocumented students participating in the program.

Dr. Alice Ho, director of the Graduate Mentoring and Research Program, and Dr. Charles Alexander, director of Academic Advancement Placement program, started the program, which is funded by the UC Office of the President.

Students receive a $1,000 stipend each quarter from the UndocuBruins Research Program, Valencia said.

Teresa Contreras, an undocumented fourth-year Chicana/o studies student, was also ineligible for the McNair program and other research programs, despite her 4.0 GPA after her first quarter at UCLA.

“The program has given me the chance to do my own research,” Contreras said. “It has also provided me guidance that I really needed.”

Contreras said the students involved in the UndocuBruins program inform each other about internship and volunteering opportunities available on campus for undocumented students.

“(They) feel like family to me,” Batres said.

Batres and Contreras said they felt isolated when they first transferred to UCLA, but the organization helped them feel included on campus.

“I tried to talk to other students, but I felt I was ignored sometimes,” Batres said about her first few months at UCLA. “I couldn’t find an organization (in which) I felt safe or welcome.”

Students will present their research on Thursday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Powell Library.