Harvard professor: Community mentors make difference for DACA recipients
After studying Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) recipients for seven years, Harvard Graduate School of Education Professor Roberto Gonzales has seen, through their eyes, all the good and bad of the landmark immigration policy. Every story is different, and while DACA recipients have been grateful for the program, according to Gonzales, some of them are much more high-achieving than others. A key reason, he said, for the success among some DACA recipients is support — from teachers, mentors, counselors, and others — and last month he found himself encouraging Greater Boston residents to create this support for young immigrants in their own communities. As part of his research Gonzales led a seven-year study interviewing thousands of undocumented young people who have qualified for deferred action from deportation since DACA took effect. “I found that the difference was, the high achievers could name three or more mentors,” Gonzales said at a community lecture...