‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’: examining the illegalization of undocumented students in Toronto, Canada

Abstract

In 2007, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) passed the ‘Students Without Legal Immigration Status Policy’, commonly known as the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. While the policy assured undocumented students’ admission to schools on paper, it remains to be fully implemented. In addition, given the discursive connection between immigration status, race, and criminalization, the TDSB has instituted procedures that further illegalize undocumented students including a more onerous and dangerous enrolment procedure. This paper examines the role of schools as border zones for undocumented immigrants in Toronto. It argues that bureaucratic processes and criminalizing rhetoric based on race actively exclude undocumented migrants from the school site.