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Undocumented Student Experiences in Education
See also Undocumented Youth in the United States

An estimated 65,000 undocumented youth graduate from high school every year but only 5 to 10 percent go on to college.

In a study that interviewed 30 undocumented Mexican high school students, researchers found that undocumented students often had common concerns including having limited opportunities, a fear of deportation and its consequences, and constantly being reminded trough media, conversations and the presence of law enforcement, that they are undocumented. Analysis of the interviews also found that undocumented students cope by normalizing, diversion, and reframing. However no mention was made about the way education works as a way to deal with these concerns. (Identifying individual and family level coping strategies as sources of resilience.)

Another study explored the experiences of students pursuing higher education in South Carolina, a state that prohibits undocumented students from attending public institutions of higher education, unless they are DACA recipients. Interviewing 36 undocumented students from various backgrounds, the study found that even though students had excelled academically in high school, knowing that they could not attend a public university made them selective about disclosing status to counselors, teachers and mentors. In other words, undocumented students sometimes did not disclose their status to the very individuals that could help them find pathways to higher education.

A study that interviewed 18 undocumented students ranging from Central/South America, Asia, and Europe in and “udocufriendly” California campus found that Students would disclose their status only in supportive spaces like their undocumented student organization on campus, with workers at the university in efforts to find resources (mainly financial), as well as using opportunities to educate and inform others with the purpose of de-stigmatize and myth-break common misconceptions about the community. In contrast, safety for their families and themselves is a main concern regarding status disclosure, and students are selective in this process, sometimes even trying to guess the potential outcomes of their actions before even doing anything. Even when an institution is supportive of undocumented students, they tend to navigate the system carefully.

Another study, that interviewed 8 undocumented student participants, found that besides resiliency and internal motivation (something the study defined as “ganas”), it was mentorship from institutional agents, as well as their communities that influenced their success in higher education. Even when their academic institutions did not have programs serving undocumented students, it was the students who would search for these resources on their own ultimately establishing trust with individuals within the institution and their communities, who would later come to be their mentors.

These studies explored the barriers undocumented students face, the feelings of anxiety and trust they encounter in institutions of higher learning, and ways to help them cope, another side to the story looks at ways to improve attitudes towards undocumented students, making it easier for them to navigate higher education. A study conducted trough the DREAMzone initiative at Arizona State University, designed to reduce stigma against undocumented immigrants, surveyed 239 participants. After, they exposed one group to a documentary film featuring undocumented people’s stories, while another group completed a four-hour workshop, which included a panel of undocumented students sharing their experiences. The study found that exposing people to interventions such as these, helped significantly improve attitudes toward undocumented students, creating a path to supportive campus experiences.

Another extensive study that looked at challenges faced by undocumented students as well as what makes a campus “undocufriendly”, used both qualitative and quantitative measures to gather data from 909 participants. According to the study, in order for undocumented students to consider a campus supportive of them, the institution must be understanding of their needs, create safe spaces, offer counseling services specific to their community, educate their employers, therefore be able to get more help when seeking information that specifically takes into account their experiences, and getting advocacy from faculty and administrators.

Some examples of universities implementing programs supportive to undocumented students are the DREAMzone at Arizona State University and the undocumented student program at UC Berkley, and the Undocumented Resource Area at San Diego State University.