Published March 28, 2024.

On March 28, Elena Neale-Sacks published an article on 90.3 KAZU, a radio station based at California State University, Monterey Bay. This article features the story of Asul Garcia-Melendrez, an undocumented recent graduate from CSUMB, sharing her struggle to find work after obtaining her bachelor’s degree due to her undocumented status — an experience shared by many undocumented people. Immigrants Rising’s National Entrepreneurship Manager Denea Joseph discusses independent contracting as a narrow but possible pathway for undocumented individuals to gain work. She shares, “We’ve been able to see folks who are mental health professionals, folks who are therapists…folks who are accountants. There’s an array of industries that you’re able to participate in. And it’s supported by the education that you acquire in a college or university setting.”

However, the article mentions that unless positive changes happen at the federal level, undocumented college graduates will continue to struggle to find work. “We are unfortunately getting further and further away from a pathway to citizenship. And I could only imagine, dependent on how the presidential election outcome looks, that we’re going to get further away from what we currently see, which is already so little,” says Denea.

Read the full article: Undocumented with a degree: One CSUMB grad’s struggle to find work (90.3 KAZU)