Community group marks 20 years of supporting immigrant students in Tucson

In 1998 a small group of students, professors and other Tucsonans gathered at the UA’s Latin American Studies Center to talk about ways to inform the community about Mexican-American culture, needs and access to education.

Twenty years later, the community group, now called Fundación México — which celebrated its anniversary this month — has awarded $58,000 in scholarships to immigrant students at Pima Community College and is close to establishing an endowment of $25,000 at the University of Arizona.

The goal is to empower Mexican-Americans in Tucson through the value of education, said Florencio Zaragoza, a UA Arizona graduate and founder of the group.

Why focus on immigrants?

Those who generally have less opportunities in the United States are immigrants, especially undocumented immigrants, Zaragoza has said, particularly when it comes to formal education.

In 1998, the group focused on providing a place for community education through symposiums, lecture series and “Desayunos de Fundación México” — a monthly breakfast where academic exhibitors would talk about their research or local initiatives in an informal setting.

The group hosted lecture series, invited Mexican scholars and politicians such as Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas — a three-time presidential candidate and son of former President Lázaro Cárdenas — to speak about topics regarding Mexico.

“It was a rich experience,” said Zaragoza, who was an international student pursuing his master’s degree at the time.

Members also participated with humanitarian aid organizations such as No More Deaths, Humane Borders and Coalición de Derechos to learn more about the tragic endings some who crossed the border met, Zaragoza said.

“For me, it was impactful to see the reality of our people dying in the desert,” he said. “I learned to really respect the work of foundations dedicated to human rights, especially those of immigrants.”

With time, the vision of the group shifted toward providing scholarships to undocumented Mexican students at Pima Community College. Zaragoza thought it unfair that despite being “interactive parts of the social fabric here in Arizona,” the students were seen as outsiders. He said immigrants who live in Arizona contribute to the economy, the culture and the art.

“We are convinced that Mexicans not only should stand out because of quantity; we should stand out because of the quality of our formation and leadership, and to achieve that, education is the best path,” Zaragoza said in a 2017 speech accepting the Ohtli Award from the Mexican Consulate for his work in promoting Mexican culture in the community.

Fundación México first partnered with Arizona Border Rights Foundation to create a fund to give scholarships to immigrant students. It then created an endowment with the Pima Community College Foundation a decade ago to provide $1,000, and later $1,500, scholarships.

Today, the group awards scholarships to DACA students who are in the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, created in 2012, that protects from deportation those in the country without legal immigration status who were brought here as children.

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Those scholarships are provided through an endowment fund with the PCC Foundation and another for Mexican American Studies graduate students with the UA funds themselves.

Students who are undocumented don’t qualify for in-state tuition because of an Arizona Supreme Court decision in April. They also do not qualify for federal financial aid.

Even if the scholarship doesn’t cover a large share of the total tuition cost, it still “makes all the difference,” said Anna Ochoa O’Leary, the head of the UA MAS department who has served as vice president of Fundación México.

That means a lot for students with limited resources, said O’Leary. “Or they have no means of support because of a highly politicized nature of this population,” she said.

She said it’s important for organizations such as Fundación México to continue to support their community and DACA students during challenging political climates.

One of the first scholarship recipients was Alejandra Baltazar, who is pursuing her master’s degree at the UA in Mexican American Studies and Public Health.

She said it took her five years to complete two years of undergraduate education because of the costs of paying out-of-state tuition as a DACA recipient.

She credits Fundación México not only for the financial aid, but also for the moral support the group gave her. Zaragoza and other members were always cheering for her and asking if she needed any help, she said. Just knowing that someone was there meant a lot to her.

“Anyone who applies for this scholarship, in one way or another, it will make a big difference in their education or in their life. I believe that’s how I ended up graduating, because of them,” Baltazar said.

Now, the best she and others can do, she said, is continue to support groups like Fundación México so others can also benefit.

To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the group signed an agreement to create a third endowment at Pima, Zaragoza said.

What’s next for Fundación México? Zaragoza would like the group to establish another scholarship for UA undergrads studying Mexican American studies and another to fund the program at Tucson Unified School District.

Once established with the educational foundations, the funds will give students opportunities to pursue higher education “in perpetuity.”