Undocumented Students Research Articles

Erratum to: Figured Worlds and American Dreams: An Exploration of Agency and Identity Among Latinx Undocumented Students

Erratum to: Figured Worlds and American Dreams: An Exploration of Agency and Identity Among Latinx Undocumented Students

When Boundaries Around the “Secret” are Tested: A School Community Response to the Policing of Undocumented Immigrants

This case study focuses on a 2008 incident where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) vans appeared near a K-5 elementary school. It was the first time school personnel experienced the impact of federal immigration agents policing illegality in their school community, and the event set off a chain of decision-making choices as to how personnel would respond. This article specifically explores how educators’ roles within a school shaped their access to information and subsequent sensemaking about ICE, asking two questions: (a) How does one’s position within a school shape a person’s sensemaking if a situation necessitates in-the-moment policy making? and (b) How might prior knowledge and professional position affect the information one accesses, shares, and uses in the policy-making process? Evidence comes from interviews with 14 personnel who reflected on the event, and shows that Aurora staff quickly established a policy and protocol within a few days to keep the school environment a safe space. The findings demonstrate that the school principal was a key “sensemaker” for other personnel. Ultimately, the school created its first school policy and protocol to ensure the school was a safe space for undocumented students, fusing a familiar school policy with new policy.

Figured Worlds and American Dreams: An Exploration of Agency and Identity Among Latinx Undocumented Students

Undocumented students find themselves on continuously shifting ground, calibrating each decision they make in accordance with or as a strategic reaction to the existing political climate. Specifically, some undocumented students find themselves in an ongoing internal battle to fashion an identity that both counters the pervasive stereotypes of undocumented people through a process of hyperdocumentation (Chang in Harv Educ Rev 81(3):508–520, 2011), while simultaneously bearing the weight of fierce anti-immigrant sentiment. In this article, we ask the following questions: How do Latinx undocumented students navigate educational spaces? In what ways do their legal statuses impact the production of their identities? How do they exert agency within the parameters of their undocumented status? In answering these questions, we explore the ways in which some undocumented students figure—or take agency in shaping meaning of—their worlds, find identity in their education, and leverage community cultural wealth (Yosso in Race Ethn Educ 8(1):69–91, 2005) as a source of critical hope and resilience in their quest to achieve the ever-nebulous American Dream.

Speech or Silence: Undocumented Students’ Decisions to Disclose or Disguise Their Citizenship Status in School

This article provides ethnographic evidence of the ways in which undocumented students make decisions about when to share or withhold their migratory status during conversations with peers and teachers in one elementary school. It argues that an analytic focus on how and when elementary-aged students talk about migratory status during everyday school activities can deepen our understanding of the educational experiences of a population that often remains invisible to teachers and educational researchers. The findings suggest ways in which public school and university educators can foster educational equity and inclusion for undocumented students.

Inferring what hardliners would do: assessing factual knowledge of state policies on immigrant treatment in the US

ABSTRACTSurvey questions concerning citizenship guidelines, naturalization tests, and party positions largely inform scholarship on policy knowledge of immigration. However, a feature of US immigration enforcement is noticeably absent: the role of state elected officials in making policies on immigrant treatment. Using policy data from the National Council of State Legislature and a nationally representative sample of US voters in the 2014 Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES), I validate answers to factual policy questions about whether respondents believe their state enacted three common state policies that affect immigrants: authorizing police to enforce immigration law, offering in-state tuition benefits for undocumented students, and requiring employers to verify the lawful status or citizenship of employees. I find that citizens align their answers to factual immigration policy questions with their predispositions toward immigrants, even if their answers are verifiably incorrect. The results suggest that anti-immigrant citizens seem more knowledgeable of local immigration policies, but only because most state policies on immigrant treatment are restrictive and are consistent with their negative beliefs about immigrants and immigration.

Support undocumented students without compromising legal responsibilities

Undocumented students on college campuses nationwide face uncertain times under a Trump administration. For students who have enjoyed protection from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program while in college, the path remains unclear as to what, exactly, will occur in the face of Trump's presidency after campaign promises that illegal immigrants would be swiftly deported.

Provide undocumented students support without compromising legal responsibilities

Undocumented students on college campuses nationwide face uncertain times with Donald Trump as president. For students who have enjoyed protection from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program while in college, the path remains unclear as to what exactly will occur in the face of Trump's presidency after campaign promises that illegal immigrants would be swiftly deported.

The Ethic of Community and Incorporating Undocumented Immigrant Concerns Into Ethical School Leadership

Purpose: If Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) takes place in a community near school property, maintaining a school environment conducive to learning can be difficult. This article examines (a) how a school leader and personnel perceived the impact that ICE activity in their community had on students and families and (b) whether school personnel incorporated community concerns in their response, and if they exhibited an “ethic of community.” Research Methods/Approach: Data come from an embedded case study of 14 educators in a school that experienced ICE activity close to school grounds in 2008. Findings: The principal and other school personnel tried to minimize the impact that uncertainty over ICE’s presence in the neighborhood could have on the school environment, and took steps to limit the short-term and long-term effects on the community. Personnel demonstrated that prioritizing relationships, dialogue, and collaboration with undocumented community members was central to their decision-making process. Implications for Research and Practice: School leaders and practitioners may not know their legal and/or ethical responsibilities toward undocumented students—or anticipate contexts related to the legal status of students’ family members. This article highlights the need for schools and school districts to create policies and resources to protect undocumented students’ educational rights and ensure that personnel receive training on those policies. Research can expand understanding of how personnel respond to the sensitive personal and legal contexts involving undocumented families.

The Effects of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals on the Educational Outcomes of Undocumented Students

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is the first large-scale immigration reform to affect undocumented immigrants in the United States in decades and offers eligible undocumented youth temporary relief from deportation and renewable work permits. While DACA has improved the economic conditions and mental health of undocumented immigrants, we do not know how DACA improves the social mobility of undocumented immigrants through its effect on educational attainment. This paper uses administrative data on students attending a large public university to estimate the effect of DACA on undocumented students' educational outcomes. The data are unique because they accurately identify students' legal status, account for individual heterogeneity, and allow separate analysis of students attending community colleges versus baccalaureate-granting, 4-year colleges. Results from difference-in-difference estimates demonstrate that as a temporary work-permit program, DACA incentivizes work over educational investments but that the effect of DACA on educational investments depends on how easily colleges accommodate working students. At 4-year colleges, DACA induces undocumented students to make binary choices between attending school on a full-time basis or dropping out of school to work. At community colleges, undocumented students have the flexibility to simply reduce course work to accommodate increased work hours. Overall, the results suggest that the precarious and temporary nature of DACA creates barriers to educational investments.

The Art of the Reveal: Undocumented High School Students, Institutional Agents, and the Disclosure of Legal Status

For many undocumented youth, the end of high school and transition to adulthood is the first time they grapple with being undocumented. Given the negative social stigma attached to being undocumented, many youth may hesitate to reveal their legal status to a teacher or other school personnel. The purpose of this study was to identify the contexts in which undocumented high school students disclose their legal status to staff in an urban, California public school. It also examined the way educators manage students’ information after learning about their legal status. This study employed ethnographic methods. Observations were conducted in the college and career center and semi-structured interviews were held with undocumented students and educators. Findings indicate four social contexts and circumstances where undocumented students revealed their legal status to adults: within longstanding relationships based on trust, when seeking support, in the course of formal interactions and querying, as well as in informal interactions. The data also demonstrates the uncertainty among educators in the management and protection of students’ information. The findings have implications for practice.

DREAMzone: Educating Counselors and Human Service Professionals Working with Undocumented Students

This article discusses the development and implementation of DREAMzone, an educational intervention designed to provide counselors and other human service professionals with awareness, knowledge, and skills for working with undocumented students. DREAMzone is driven by four learning objectives: (a) identify and deconstruct preconceptions of undocumented immigrants; (b) increase knowledge about laws and policies affecting the experiences of undocumented students; (c) engage in direct contact with undocumented students; and (d) acquire skills, practices, and resources for working with undocumented students. Program reflections are provided, including future directions for effectuating a systems level transformation within higher education.

Academic and Career Development of Undocumented College Students: The American Dream?

Little is known about the academic and career decision‐making process for college students with undocumented status. This study used a multiple case study approach to explore how academic and work‐related decisions were made for 2 college students with undocumented citizenship status. Participants responded to a series of questions about their academic and career development. Data collected from these interviews were analyzed by a research team. After cross‐case analysis, 6 themes emerged: (a) barriers; (b) emotional impact; (c) resiliency, supports, and coping; (d) discrimination; (e) familial and cultural influences; and (f) academic, work, and career factors. Findings suggest that counseling professionals should attend to systemic, academic, and work‐related barriers that directly affect the educational and career decisions of students with undocumented citizenship status. Future research could expand on the present study by further exploring systemic and contextual factors that influence how undocumented students make academic and career choices using varied qualitative and quantitative methodologies.

Protecting Undocumented Students Post-Election

Anthropology NewsVolume 57, Issue 12 p. e29-e33 December Online Content Protecting Undocumented Students Post-Election Kristin Elizabeth Yarris, Kristin Elizabeth YarrisSearch for more papers by this authorLauren Heidbrink, Lauren HeidbrinkSearch for more papers by this authorWhitney L. Duncan, Whitney L. DuncanSearch for more papers by this author Kristin Elizabeth Yarris, Kristin Elizabeth YarrisSearch for more papers by this authorLauren Heidbrink, Lauren HeidbrinkSearch for more papers by this authorWhitney L. Duncan, Whitney L. DuncanSearch for more papers by this author First published: 18 May 2017 https://doi.org/10.1111/AN.254Citations: 1AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume57, Issue12December 2016Pages e29-e33 RelatedInformation

‘Access without Fear!’: Reconceptualizing ‘Access’ to Schooling for Undocumented Students in Toronto

This paper uses Chela Sandoval’s (2000) concept of meta-ideologizing to examine how definitions of ‘access’ are reframed to further the goals of social justice activists. Meta-ideologizing refers to re-operationalizing liberal, widely-accepted terms to fit the needs of a community. The paper draws from 14 semi-structured interviews with individuals pivotal to the passing and implementation of Toronto’s ‘Students Without Legal Immigration Status Policy’, also known as a ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy. It also employs data from literature developed by stakeholders as well as the author’s experiential knowledge. It examines how organizers have reframed the concept of ‘access’ by extending its focus beyond entry into schools and including the need for undocumented migrants to be safe and have access to other social services. It also analyzes the ways bureaucratic logic can invisibilize the gains made by developing procedures that reify illegalization.

Face me I face you

This iterative and a-signifying sound experimentation project started from simple wonderings that emerged from undocumented college students’ interview data. As the researchers began to reflect on the data provided by these students, conversations around noise and gossip began to emerge. Over time, the conversations about noise and gossip transmogrified into various soundscapes and audio recordings that extended also beyond noise and gossip. "Let’s work more with the sound and try to extend effects and create affects. Maybe produce another extension of that video in such a way that we would still be working with the thing, whatever the thing was" stated Mirka and Justin. Justin would go on to say, "It's less and less representational and signifying. Our sound encounters produce something different than what we originally intended them to be. Or they work, or function as whatever."

Model (undocumented) minorities and “illegal” immigrants: centering Asian Americans and US carcerality in undocumented student discourse

As the numbers of immigrant apprehensions, detentions, and deportations increase, and in context of anti-immigrant sentiment, education scholars must better contend with the way that carcerality affects undocumented student experiences. Carcerality refers to social and political systems that formally and informally promote discipline, punishment, and incarceration. Guided by Critical Race Theory, I examine interview data from 15 undocumented Asian Americans to show that the portrayal of undocumented student exceptionalism that typically characterizes the discourse on their experiences obscures the centrality of carcerality in shaping how young people with undocumented status navigate their lives. The narratives of undocumented Asian Americans represent a shift in undocumented discourse as these students de-emphasized their academic mobility, demonstrated a hyper-awareness of punitive immigration policies, and were traumatized by and practiced nondisclosure in response to deportation threats. However, while these students developed resistance strategies that they believed would both physically and psychologically protect their presence in the US, some reinforced white supremacist perceptions of the illegality of other undocumented immigrants. Undocumented Asian American experiences illuminate the nuanced relationship between the criminalization of undocumented immigrants, race, and education, and how a legacy of carcerality is vital to deciphering the contemporary educational experiences of undocumented students in the US.

Educational justice for undocumented students: How school counselors encourage student persistence in schools

School counselors are critical intermediaries in K-12 schools who can help students from undocumented immigrant families persist in school. Yet, a dearth of research exists about their advocacy work, or the range of efforts they make to support unauthorized youth. This paper asks, 1) what challenges do counselors face and strive to overcome to promote undocumented students’ persistence in school?; and 2) what strategies do counselors use to encourage students to persist? Data come from an embedded case study with seven school counselors and a family intervention specialist in two Texas school districts on the U.S.-Mexico border. The findings revealed that two of participants’ biggest challenges in terms of student persistence—and their strategies to help—related to complexities arising from students commuting across the border to school and students’ transient living situations. Despite participants networking on behalf of students and families, forming partnerships and seeking services for students and families, counselors recognized limits to their efforts. Policies impeded their assistance, and events that were out of their control inhibited them from potentially acting as empowering agents for students in critical ways. While counselors can develop strong, trusting school-student partnerships to encourage student persistence, more research must explore how school leaders can act as empowerment agents and build capacity to serve newly arrived or undocumented families.

Incorporating Undocumented/DACAmented Status Competency Into Higher Education Institutional Agents’ Practice

This article examines undocumented/DACAmented status competency (UDSC) centered on the awareness, knowledge, and skills necessary for higher education institutional agents to support undocumented and DACAmented students. Forty-five community college professionals from four states (California, Connecticut, Georgia, and Wisconsin) were interviewed to determine how UDSC was incorporated. A tripartite framework (awareness of undocumented and DACAmented students and their needs, opportunities that contribute toward UDSC knowledge, and UDSC skills) is presented to inform higher education practitioners’ work.

Forms of exclusion: Undocumented students navigating financial aid and inclusion in the United States

ABSTRACTExcluded from public financial aid because of their immigration status, undocumented youth in the United States frequently depend on private schools’ merit‐based financial aid. This aid, which operates according to a neoliberal logic, provides them with a critical pathway to tertiary education and potentially to institutional and national inclusion. Yet this private‐sector inclusion ultimately harms their sense of public belonging, as shown by the experiences of undocumented Latino youth in Nashville, Tennessee. Students who do not meet the schools’ high standards cannot access either institutional or civic inclusion; those who can meet the standards experience inclusion as contingent on continued excellence. Their experiences reveal the critical role that private institutions play in mediating undocumented people's national inclusion and how neoliberal merit restricts the terms of this inclusion. [undocumented migrants, inclusion, exclusion, higher education, neoliberalism, bureaucratic documents, United States]

DREAMing Big

Undocumented student immigrants in the United States face substantial challenges in higher education including systemic, institutional, and cultural barriers that often impede access to and success in higher education. These barriers directly influence academic and work opportunities. The purpose of this article is to discuss the myriad of factors that affect the academic, career, and work development of undocumented college students. The three main objectives of this article are to (1) examine legislation that directly impacts access to higher education, (2) explore common barriers and systemic challenges undocumented college students face, and (3) review culturally sensitive interventions and resources for working with undocumented college students. Vocational psychologists and career counselors employed in higher education are in a unique position to provide culturally sensitive counseling services to undocumented students as well as to advocate for their academic and work-related needs.