For the past 10 years, the AB540 and Undocumented Student Center has served as a supportive space for undocumented students to find resources, connection and joy. As the center continues to expand its resources and impact, we discovered that the name and graphic element no longer resonated with the evolving immigrant rights movement, campus advocacy and values of the students we serve.

In 2022, we redesigned our graphic element to embody a visual representation of the larger and more diverse undocumented immigrant community. We moved away from the butterfly imagery often connected to the migration journey and experiences of Latin American immigrants as a way to disrupt the narrative that all undocumented immigrants are from Latin American countries. The new design represents our community’s wisdom, immeasurable contributions to our campus and society and the center's precious knowledge and history.

Like our graphic element, our name change was made possible thanks to community engagement and feedback, including student focus groups, Instagram polls and one-on-one conversations with students, alumni and campus partners over the past two years. Unanimously, our community voted for Undocumented Student Resource Center (USRC) as the center’s new name. Over the summer, we will make updates to our website, communication channels and signage to reflect the new name. 

We hope that the strategic rebranding that will follow the name change amplifies the healing and liberatory frameworks we use in our everyday work and resonates with students we serve and the larger undocumented and immigrant community. Our students are critical partners in the growth of the center, and it is important that we give them the freedom and autonomy to re-envision themselves beyond their immigration status as they evolve into the chosen version of themselves. We look forward to continuing to highlight the center’s role as a resource and advocate alongside our undocumented students for years to come.