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WiseUp!RISE UP

Wise Up! brings students together in schools to build leadership, organize with their peers, and prepare for higher education and civic participation. Through CHIRLA’s youth organizing program, students strengthen their advocacy skills while learning how to navigate systems that too often exclude immigrant communities.

This work is more critical than ever. While California guarantees access to K–12 education regardless of immigration status, immigrant youth continue to face significant barriers beyond high school—especially as federal protections like DACA remain under threat and newly arrived young immigrants are left without clear pathways to stability. Wise Up! equips students to respond to these challenges by engaging them in civic life, policy advocacy, and organizing efforts that defend their right to education and push for lasting solutions, including a pathway to citizenship.

Timeline

  • Mar 5, 2026

    1986

    Leticia A., a high school graduate, was the main plaintiff in a lawsuit in Alameda County pushing to let undocumented students pay in-state college tuition. A state court ruled in her favor, setting a precedent for other undocumented graduates.

  • Mar 5, 2026

    1991

    Creation of the Leticia A. Network, a group of educators helping undocumented youth pursue a college career.

  • Mar 5, 2026

    1999

    WiseUp! at CHIRLA grows out of this early organizing to also fight for legalization and citizenship. Young people encourage their peers to '“wise up'' and take action to win their future.

  • Mar 5, 2026

    2001

    The student Adjustment Act was introduced for the first time in Congress to give undocumented young people a path to citizenship. It becomes the DREAM Act, which has yet to become law.

  • Mar 5, 2026

    2001

    WiseUp! students help win approval of the California DREAM Act, which lets undocumented students apply for financial aid for college.

  • Mar 5, 2026

    2013

    WiseUp! helps win passage of AB540, which lets undocumented students pay in-state tuition at California public colleges. It was one of the first victories in the nation to open college doors to undocumented youth once they met certain requirements.

  • Mar 5, 2026

    2023

    For decades, CHIRLA’s Wise Up! program has developed youth leaders who organize for change in their schools and communities. Most recently, Wise Up! students helped advance Dream Resource Centers in more than six high schools and contributed to the passage of AB 278 (2023),a state law that expands support and resources for immigrant and undocumented students across California, demonstrating the power of youth-led advocacy and civic engagement.

  • Mar 5, 2026

    Today

    WiseUp! Continues to fight for the full access to quality education at the high school and college level. WiseUp! Fights for the day where undocumented students will be formally recognize as part of this nation. 

chirla-wise-up-internships

Summer InternshipProgram

The WiseUp! internship program allows high school students to spend intensive time with mentors building their leadership skills and learning about their rights. Each year, we select students from 15 Los Angeles high schools and train them to go back to school as activists, prepare themselves and others for college, and have a place to belong.

Contact Kathia Garcia for More Information
Chirla_Selection_09

Marco Antonio FirebaughMonarch Scholars Fund

CHIRLA’s Wise Up! Youth Leadership Program, launched in 2013, has grown into a powerful incubator of immigrant youth organizing, cultivating generations of student leaders who transform personal experience into collective advocacy. 

For more than a decade, Wise Up! has strengthened civic engagement, policy leadership, and community organizing skills among immigrant youth, firmly establishing youth power as a cornerstone of the immigrant rights movement.

Most recently, Wise Up! leaders helped advance the creation of Dream Resource Centers across more than six high schools, ensuring students have access to academic guidance, legal resources, and wellness support. Their leadership also contributed to the California Dream Resource Center Grant Program's win, a policy victory driven by students who directly benefit from these critical spaces.

As this legacy continues, we invite our community to invest in the next generation of leaders by supporting CHIRLA’s Marco Antonio Firebaugh Monarch Scholars Fund, uplifting youth whose vision, courage, and organizing will shape a more just and inclusive future for immigrants.

chirla-wise-up-campaigns

WiseUp!Campaigns

Bold Vision Youth Campaign

A partnership among grassroots organizations, foundations, elected officials, and government agencies to improve the lives of youth of color in Los Angeles County through policy and systemic change.