UF students and Gainesville residents will come together to discuss how immigration affects Alachua County.
On Saturday, the Interfaith Alliance for Immigrant Justice and the UF Center for Latin American Studies will host "Immigration: Action Through Collaboration," a conference about immigration policy and advocacy.
Paula Rötscher, an event coordinator, said the conference will serve as a platform for people to connect.
"We are hoping that people can leave the event and know where they can start helping out (with immigration) and what organization would be the best fit for them," she said.
The conference will feature speakers from national and local organizations, including the Farm Worker Association of Florida, the National Farm Worker Ministry and Coalition of Immokalee Workers, said Richard MacMaster, coordinator of Interfaith Alliance for Immigrant Justice.
Most of the discussion will focus on Florida immigration, Rotscher said.
Immigration is a relevant issue in Alachua county, MacMaster said.
UF CHISPAS President Dafne Jacobs said she is attending the conference and will be on a panel to discuss what her organization is doing and how others can get involved.
"This is important to me because I am an undocumented student," the mathematics junior said. "I am directly working to educate administration and staff on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which allows me to pay in-state tuition."
Jacobs said that when she transferred to UF she was charged out-of-state tuition. She talked with financial aid, but she said at the time they weren’t informed enough to help.
Director of the UF Center for Latin American Studies Philip Williams said that he supports charging undocumented students in-state tuition rather than out-of-state fees. He will speak at the event.
"This conference comes at a really good time for students to particularly understand what the issues are and address the misconceptions on immigration," Williams said.
The conference will be in room 355B of UF’s Holland Law Center from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
