The pathway to academia can be difficult for many. But becoming a professor can be more arduous when also dealing with the struggles of being an undocumented immigrant in the United States. This is the reality for Prof. Monica Cornejo, communication, who is one of the first undocumented tenure-track faculty members at Cornell.
Cornejo first immigrated to the United States from Mexico when she was six-years-old. She is currently an undocumented immigrant and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipient.
An undocumented immigrant refers to any person who resides in a country without legal documentation. DACA is a program started by former President Barack Obama in 2012 that is now discontinued. It offers protection from deportation, and is valid for two years before it can be renewed. However, it is not deemed an official pathway to citizenship.
Read full story that originally appeared in the Cornell Daily Sun
