By Michelle Fausto MPP 2027
Before coming to HKS, I was unsure how I would make an impact during my time here. With 100 student organizations, the school already seemed to host every event imaginable, bringing in distinguished speakers across a variety of focus areas. I spent the fall semester acclimating to the academic environment and taking advantage of opportunities that felt closely aligned to my “why.” I was excited to join the Taubman Center for State and Local Government’s 8th annual Economic Development Seminar, form connections with Latinx public servants through the U.S. Latinx Caucus, and build up my capacity for effective public leadership and inclusive policymaking through my Center for Public Leadership fellowship.
I spent my winter break closely following the events in Minneapolis and continuing to see immigration enforcement separate families in my own cities of Los Angeles and the Coachella Valley. Coming back for spring semester, I was hopeful that students could come together and create a space for dialogue about the immigration issues facing many of our communities. I realized I had an opportunity to uplift these issues to the wider HKS community.
Creating space for immigrant justice at HKS
Each semester, the Center for Public Leadership sponsors a select number of student-generated events that enable HKS students to convene groups and hear from speakers they would not be able to otherwise. I recently applied to and was awarded funding through CPL to host an event with local policy practitioners in Massachusetts on their strategic responses to the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in their communities.
Now that I am planning this event, I am working to create a space where students will hear from local leaders who are at the forefront of protecting the civil rights of immigrants. Students will hear about a variety of topics: sanctuary policies, legal action against immigration-related directives from the federal government, and city-initiated grant funding to expand resources for immigrant communities.
As future policymakers, advancing meaningful policies for the common good in the face of political tension and uncertainty, and making communities safer and more inclusive, is at the heart of public service.
“As future policymakers, advancing meaningful policies for the common good in the face of political tension and uncertainty, and making communities safer and more inclusive, is at the heart of public service.”
Building a new student organization: The Immigrant and Refugee Rights Caucus
Policy issues and systemic failures surrounding the United States’ immigration system have always been top of mind as someone who was raised by first generation immigrant parents. As the situation with immigration enforcement, detention, and removal becomes more precarious, my classmate Louise Engohang MPP 2027 and I came together to build a new student organization with a focus on immigration and refugee policy in the United States. As students at HKS, we have personally experienced a gap in coursework, events, research, and professional pathways in this area.
The Immigrant and Refugee Rights Caucus will be a community dedicated to examining the immigration system in the U.S. through the lens of public policy. We hope to have our first event this spring semester and and will focus our future programming around the discussion of issues impacting immigrant communities in the United States, engagement in volunteer opportunities with advocacy organizations, and building connections with policy practitioners and organizers in this policy area.
This is all to say if you don’t see a space for you on campus, create it. Something I appreciate about HKS is that there is always a research center, professor, or staff member who will believe in your ideas. I am inspired and hopeful about what this spring semester has in store and look forward to engaging my peers in these important conversations.
