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The Immigrant Services Program at the Metropolitan State University of Denver is an academic and social support program that aims to increase enrollment, retention, and graduation of undocumented, DACA, immigrant, and refugee students. Through academic counseling, ESL support, scholarship application assistance, and access to campus and community resources, the program’s mission is to address the most common challenges and barriers to education that this underserved, underrepresented student population faces.
Simultaneously, the program aims to serve as a representative for undocumented, DACA, refugee, immigrant, and ESL students on campus, helping staff and faculty alike to support, empathize with, and effectively serve these student populations.
Some of the services we offer include:
- Academic support & advocacy
- Degree and career planning
- Financial aid forms
- Institutional and private scholarships
- ASSET and COF
- Peer mentoring
- Personalized tutoring for non-native English speakers
- Referrals to resources on campus
- Consultations with MSU Denver faculty and staff
For an appointment with one of our advisors, please contact the Coordinator of the Immigrant Services Program, Gregor Mieder, at 303-605-5390, the Immigrant Services Program Specialist, Ariadna Ochoa, at 303-605-5380, or the ESL & Student Success Specialist, Verónica González, at 303-605-7104. You can also make an appoint online through this link: https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/ImmigrantServicesProgramAriadna@msudenver.onmicrosoft.com/bookings/
We are located on the 2nd floor of the Student Academic Success Building. (SSB237) See Auraria Campus Map: https://msudenver.edu/maps/
Update On State Financial Aid for Dreamers
Dear students,
As some of you may have noticed, Governor Jared Polis visited MSU Denver on Monday to sign House Bill 19-1196 into a law, which provides state financial aid to Colorado’s ASSET students. The new law puts Colorado in line with at least six other states (California, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas and Washington) that provide state financial aid to Dreamer college students.
Legislators, lobbyists, and elected officials may receive much of the credit for the passage of this bill. However, it is most importantly the achievement of MSU Denver’s own DACA and undocumented students and on-campus organizations such as RISE or Dreamers United – who spoke out, testified, and protested at the State Capitol, on campus, and beyond – that led to this important change in funding for higher education. We understand you may be wondering when and how to apply for state financial aid such as the Colorado Student Grant, Colorado Work-Study, Colorado Merit Scholarship, Dependent Tuition Assistance Program and Colorado Graduate Grant. Currently, we are working with Colorado Department of Higher Education to determine the application process that will be used to qualify students for these funds. In the meantime, please complete the 19/20 Dreamer and International Application (DAIA) for institutional funding if you haven’t already. We will be sure to send updates as soon as we learn more about the state financial aid process-- stay tuned!
Your Immigrant Services staff Verónica, Ari, and Gregor
Statement by MSU President Dr. Davidson
June 26, 2018
Dear Roadrunners,
As so many of you have, I’ve been dismayed by the recent news about immigrant families being separated at the border. Given these circumstances and the immigration bills circulating in Congress, I wanted to reach out to reaffirm MSU Denver’s support of immigrants – our students, their families and all people who have come to our country seeking a better life.
For any of those directly affected by this humanitarian crisis, I want to make sure you know about the resources available to you on campus. We offer flexible hours in both our Office of Immigrant Services and the Counseling Center.
As a sign of our support, we will be hanging a banner on the Student Success Building, starting July 2, that reads: Denver ♥ immigrants. It’s the same banner that hung on the City and County Building in downtown Denver (pictured below) earlier this year. The banner is our way of making it very clear to all who pass that MSU Denver stands with immigrants.
The United States has always been a nation of immigrants, and we are better for it. As a university that wholeheartedly embraces diversity, we know that our differences make us stronger. That’s why we continue to support those who come to this country to change their lives.
Sincerely,
Janine Davidson, Ph.D.
A California U.S. Distruct court has ordered to stop the termination of the federal DACA program, and according to USCIS, application are being processed again. As of May 2018, only DACA renewals are being accepted by USCIS (from anyone who ever had an approved DACA request). Although a court decision in April 2018 opened the possibility of USCIS accepting DACA initial requests again, this is not yet official.
For additional information and current updates, please refer to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center's website: https://www.ilrc.org/daca.
These videos by the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union, www.aclu.org) provide instructional, engaging information on how to interact with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).
WE HAVE RIGHTS: Inside Our Home https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_tLoRdoECM
WE HAVE RIGHTS: In Our Communities, In Our Streets https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrK8aaGxRJE
WE HAVE RIGHTS: When ICE is Outside Our Doors https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW4uixi4b_E
WE HAVE RIGHTS: If ICE Arrests Us https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOOjvP36ubo
If you are faculty or staff at Metro and are unsure about how to interact with ICE, please refer to the What to do if ICE comes to campus flyer .
Please refer to the guide below for tips and important notes on sharing reports of raids on social media. For up-to-date, in-the-moment information about any ongoing immigration raids in Colorado, please refer to the Colorado Rapid Response Network's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CORapidResponseNetwork/
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The Immigrant Services Program provides each student with a knowledgeable peer that is able to support the student with important study skills, tutoring in writing, reading, and presenting, note taking, applying for scholarships, and advice on how to be a successful college student.
Tutoring and mentoring appointments are personalized to the student's individual needs.
For on- and off-campus resources specifically for immigrants and DREAMer students, please go to our "DREAMer Zone" page.