Analytical Inquiry

Running head: WHEN THE AMERICAN DREAM FAILS

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When the American Dream Fails: The Burdens Undocumented Students Face When Accessing Higher Education Jessica Avila-Cuevas Loyola University Chicago

WHEN THE AMERICAN DREAM FAILS

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One of the most crucial barriers that college-bound undocumented students face is accessing higher education. The vague practices that play in federal, local, and institutional policies and the lack of financial support from both public and private institutions of higher education hinder undocumented students to achieve the “American Dream.” By utilizing a critical framework and literature from the pre-Trump era, this paper outlines fundamental issues that contribute to how undocumented students in the United States face barriers in the college admission and financial aid process when accessing higher education. Such indications are the historical governmental policies that hinder undocumented student access and financial aid in higher education, the ambiguous admission practices that may impede undocumented students’ college admission processes, and the disparities in policies between public and private institutions of higher education that offer financial aid to undocumented students. This paper also considers how college admission practitioners can serve as agents of change utilizing best practices for undocumented students who are currently living in the Trump era. Keywords: undocumented students, college access, financial aid

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When the American Dream Fails: The Burdens Undocumented Students Face When Accessing Higher Education As a college admissions practitioner, I have experienced working with undocumented students in the admission and financial aid process. While I understand the micro-level of institutional policies and practices at the university I currently work for, I wanted to learn more about the macro-level of policies and practices through a historical examination that have essentially affected all undocumented students. Moreover, I wanted to learn how undocumented students are affected with certain barriers that may hinder their access to and fund their postsecondary options. Ultimately, I wanted to understand what are best practices that college admission practitioners can do to better serve the needs for college-bound undocumented students. According to the United States Department of Education (2015), there are approximately 80,000 undocumented youth that turn 18 in the United States and approximately 65,000 students that graduate from U.S. high schools every year. Out of this number, about 5 to 10% pursue higher education (United States Department of Education, 2015). When keeping this in mind, one must understand where this particular student population goes to with regard to their postsecondary educational journey. Knowing that the number of undocumented youth is staggering, how can we utilize a historical analysis of governmental policies that have been implemented for undocumented youth to access higher education in order to serve best practices for the students we work for? Although undocumented students have access to free, public education in the K-12 system, there are still disparities as to how these students navigate themselves to higher education access and attainment. Therefore, I want to pose as to what extent do public and private institutions of higher education are doing to alleviate the burden it

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takes for these students to live the “American Dream” and what are the implications? Moreover, what can college admission practitioners do to advocate and serve these students while understanding the implications undocumented students may face in the college search process? To understand who undocumented students are, we must recognize that “they are individuals who are not US citizens, do not hold current permanent resident visas, and have not been granted admission to the country through longer-term residence or work permit programs” (Nienhusser & Saavedra Carquin, 2015, p. 32). Currently, the largest population of undocumented immigrants come from Mexico, followed by other nations in Latin America, Asia, Europe, Canada, and Africa respectively (Gildersleeve, Rumann, & Mondragón, 2010). Out of these 11 million undocumented immigrants, the largest populations undocumented immigrants live in California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Texas (Passel & Cohn, 2016). Understanding that the number of undocumented immigrants is significant, there are insufficient and ineffective actions the United States has done for this population in regard to educational access and financial aid in higher education. Moreover, this has created a constrain to their pursuits in achieving such educational goals. Methodology As a practitioner in college admissions, I naturally wanted to find the historical implications in education and immigration policy that affect the accessibility and financial prospects for undocumented students. However, I needed to understand how such governmental policies affect institutions of higher education in a micro-level. By doing so, I researched governmental resources from several scholarly articles and the U.S. Department of Education to get an understanding of federal policy regarding undocumented student access and financial aid in higher education. Moreover, I utilized reports from professional journals that utilizes best

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practices in servicing this particular student population. While my analysis in this paper was utilized from literature that was published in the pre-Trump era, it is important to note that some of the governmental policies as presented, have or will change. This opens further discussion and implications for college admission practitioners to consider revisiting, as policy changes may occur when serving undocumented students during the Trump era. Findings Undocumented students have struggled to obtain equitable education rights in the United States. Moreover, the college choice process can be overwhelming as students are challenged with acquiring information and making decisions that will shape their educational trajectories (Nienhusser & Saavedra Carquin, 2015). Therefore, it is important to note the repercussions that influence the struggles for undocumented students to access higher education. Three factors that hinder undocumented students to receive full rights in higher education are (1) how the historical governmental policies hinder undocumented student access and financial aid in higher education, (2) the ambiguous admission practices that may impede undocumented students’ college admission processes, and (3) the disparities in policies between public and private institutions of higher education that offer financial aid to undocumented students. Governmental Policies and Practices In order to recognize the repercussions that hinder access and financial aid for undocumented students in higher education, we must understand the historical governmental immigration and education policies that have impacted certain rights for undocumented students in the United States. The most recent federal immigration reform that Congress passed was the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), which protected the rights of immigrant workers in the

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United States and was also considered as “amnesty,” which legalized about 3 million undocumented immigrants who entered and resided in the U.S. since January 1, 1982 (Nguyen & Serna, 2014). Ten years later, Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), where these two acts “dramatically changed the outlook for undocumented immigrants and affected federal social welfare and health benefits for them” (Nguyen & Serna, 2014, p. 126). Although such immigration policies protected some civil rights to immigrants, these laws were implemented over twenty years ago. Therefore, it is imperative to either modernize or implement new federal policies that can pertain the needs of undocumented students today. The only form of equitable opportunity that has affected undocumented students in education is the Plyler v. Doe case. In 1984, the Supreme Court prohibited states from denying undocumented students access to free K-12 education from charging tuition based on citizenship status (Nguyen & Martinez Hoy, 2015). Furthermore, the Supreme Court “asserted that undocumented immigrants are protected under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution” (Nguyen & Martinez Hoy, 2015, p. 358). This case offers the educational opportunities so that students would not be marginalized in the K-12 system. Consequently, this is only implied in the K-12 public school system, therefore this does not extend to higher education, nor such case protects the rights for undocumented students to access postsecondary education. In the context of higher education rights for undocumented students, the only one proposed federal legislation that is the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors, better known as the DREAM Act. This was first introduced in 2001 as a bipartisan legislation

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“to clarify the contested rights of states to extend in-state tuition benefits to undocumented immigrants” (Gildersleeve, Rumann, & Mondragón, 2010, p. 14). Ultimately, this legislation would lead a path to citizenship for many undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. Ever since its first introduction in 2001, the DREAM Act has overcome several revisions. The bill came closest to passage in 2010 when the House of Representatives passed the bill, but the Senate failed to pass it (Nguyen & Martinez Hoy, 2015). Again, this has led to the uncertainty in immigration reform for undocumented students pursuing equitable access to postsecondary institutions. Since the proposed versions of the DREAM Act did not pass, President Barack Obama announced a new executive order called the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in 2012. This program provides “a two-year temporary reprieve to qualified undocumented immigrants enabling them to enjoy certain benefits without a pathway to permanent residency or citizenship” (Nguyen & Martinez Hoy, 2015, p. 364). Currently, DACA has allowed 800,000 eligible young adults to work lawfully and attend school. However, DACA must be renewed every two years in order to receive such benefits (American Immigration Council, 2017). Although DACA has allowed many undocumented students to access certain benefits where they can engage in their communities without the fear of deportation, this executive order has once again revisited by the current administration. The Ambiguity of Admission Practices After learning about historical governmental policies that have impeded undocumented students to equitable access to higher education, I came to ask how do institutions of higher education take into play with regard to their admission practices that may affect undocumented students? Although there is no federal legislation that prevent undocumented students to attend

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higher education, some institutions have taken action to deny admission to these students (Gildersleeve, Rumann, & Mondragón, 2010). Some institutions require that students provide proof of legal residency or citizenship, while others do not require it nor have policies that may restrict them to attending their respective schools. Since it is upon the institution that would give access to undocumented students or not, it is it is important that students understand the ambiguity there is for each institution they are seeking admissions. Not only does this ambiguity of college admission hinder postsecondary options, but undocumented students usually do not learn of their immigration status until high school, which limits the opportunity to access equitable higher education. Additionally, “students often face an especially difficult college search given the numerous barriers that come with their precarious immigration status” (Nienhusser & Saavedra Carquin, 2015, p.31). This is also when undocumented students realize that they see themselves as different. Social forces such as their home and community have also put so much pressure with living the “American Dream” but this reality has shattered. Chavez et al. (2007) stated: Having spent their lives attending U.S. schools, being told that if they work hard and jump over the necessary hurdles a college education and their desired career will follow, undocumented students are forced to face a harsh reality when they complete high school and realize that this is not the case. (p. 259) While admission practices in institutions are not mandated by federal laws that prohibit undocumented students to access higher education, it is important that professionals – either on the high school or college side –understand the unique needs of these students and receive training that support on how to best serve undocumented students. Disparity in Financial Aid Policies Amongst Public and Private Institutions

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While the federal government does not require specific laws that prohibit undocumented students to access higher education, certain laws do imply when it comes to the financial aid process, which ultimately hinders undocumented students to their postsecondary educational paths. Such inequitable issue pertains to the literature that is gathered from the Higher Education Act. In 1965, Congress passed the Title IV of the Higher Education Act, which “embodied the first explicit federal commitment to equalizing college opportunities for needy students” (Gladieux, 1995, p. 2). While not explicitly stated, the distribution of financial aid is only limited to citizens and permanent residents of the United States. Such legislation was a way to allow college access to students by providing financial aid by positioning “the federal government’s higher-education policies and programs to give serious attention and resources to civil rights and social justice” (Thelin, 2011, p. 326). Despite the revisions of the Higher Education Act implemented over the past 50 years, there has still been no indication for federal aid being accessible to undocumented students. Since no immigration law exists for undocumented youth to qualify for federal aid, it is up to the states if they want to provide some form of legislation. Some states have enacted legislation that promotes access to higher education for undocumented students through allowing in-state tuition benefits in public universities (Nguyen & Serna, 2014). According to the National Immigration Law Center: At least twenty states and the District of Columbia have ‘tuition equity’ laws or policies that permit certain students who have attended and graduated from secondary schools in their state to pay the same tuition as their ‘in-state’ classmates at their state’s public institutions of higher education, regardless of their immigration status. (2017, para. 1)

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Additionally, there are five states that not only offer in-state resident tuition to undocumented students, but these students also qualify to receive state financial aid (Nguyen & Martinez Hoy, 2015). While some states have found ways to provide financial assistance to undocumented students, others, such as Arizona, Georgia, South Carolina, Indiana, Alabama, and North Carolina, have passed barriers for undocumented students to get access as they stripped away their state residency in order to qualify for in-state tuition. Moreover, out of the states that offer in-state resident tuition, studies show that few undocumented students have taken advantage of in-state laws (Nguyen & Martinez Hoy, 2015). Most of this is due to the barriers of how high tuition costs are. Regardless of what efforts states want to provide, not all students have the means to afford a four-year public university. Therefore, if federal financial aid were to exist for these students, the barriers on affordability would not be so detrimental than it currently is. Although certain states either allow or prohibit in-state resident tuition at four-year public universities for undocumented students, most private institutions of higher education serve as an alternative for these students to access a different level of financial aid. According to Green (2005), merit-based aid is used to shape the size and desired characteristics of the incoming student body at institutions of higher education. Therefore, “the use of merit rather than need as a main criterion for aid is symptomatic of the neoliberal turn in higher education–the infiltration of market logic into the university’s practices and purposes” (Flores, 2016, p. 541). This strategy utilized by private institutions may hinder some students who do not fit their academic profile. However, this effort may benefit high-achieving undocumented students who are offered with the opportunity to qualify for merit-based aid to access higher education. Regardless, using meritocracy as a way to utilize undocumented students to (re)shape the student body at a private university can have its deficiencies. Such institutions of higher education must consider how

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they can retain undocumented students and how they should understand the critical role financial aid plays in strategic enrollment management (Green, 2005). That way, private institutions can best serve the needs of undocumented students, while retaining them at their campuses. Despite the two different types of financial aid opportunities that are offered to undocumented students, there is a discrepancy as to how students should navigate their college search, and whether they will access either methods of financial aid. Therefore, if the federal government does not allow access to federal aid to undocumented students, it is up to high school and college counselors to help undocumented students and their families to find creative ways to finance college costs (United States Department of Education, 2015). The may resolve some of the ambiguity that undocumented students may have related to the discrepancy of the different types of financial aid that is available for them. Implications for Practitioners The implications for this paper outlines fundamental issues that contribute to how undocumented students in the United States face barriers in the college admission and financial aid process when accessing higher education. The following are some suggestions that can serve as best practices for college admission practitioners to use as they work with undocumented students. First, practitioners need to understand that undocumented students are traditionally coming from low socioeconomic backgrounds so they are already coming with some form of a disadvantage accessing college. Most of these students are considered the first in their family to go to college. Gildersleeve, Rumann, & Mondragón (2010) stated that “without anyone in their immediate family to assist them in navigating educational pathways, undocumented students can have difficulty navigating their way through college” (p. 7). Therefore, it is crucial that

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practitioners understand who this particular student population is and how to better serve their needs when accessing postsecondary options. Additionally, college admission practitioners should advocate for the emotional wellbeing of undocumented students. It is essential that practitioners “are cognizant of the emotional supports undocumented and DACAmented students may require during the college search process” (Nienhusser & Saavedra Carquin, 2015, p. 34). Because federal, local, and institutional policies bring uncertainty and often fear, undocumented students may need our emotional support as they go through the college admission process. This is often when they are coming out of the shadows; therefore, we must consider ways to support them through this challenging process. Finally, college admission practitioners should become agents of change when establishing admission and financial aid practices that can provide access to undocumented students. Moreover, institutions of higher education should create efforts that will require them “to acknowledge the existence of undocumented students because these students often fall under the radar and therefore may not be acknowledged” (Gildersleeve & Ranero, 2010 p. 26). If no federal immigration legislation is executed for the lawful rights of these students, it is important that practitioners utilize recruitment efforts, whether it be for outreach or yielding purposes, at their respective universities. Not only does this create access, but the opportunity for undocumented students to be considered and acknowledged by such efforts. Concluding Thoughts As a practitioner in higher education, it is important to have a historical background of the policies that have been put into place in order for college admission counselors to best serve undocumented youth in the higher education setting. In a time of political change that may

WHEN THE AMERICAN DREAM FAILS affect the rights of immigrant youth, it is imperative that we understand the repercussions that may hinder undocumented students access and financial aid opportunities in higher education. Moreover, it is important that we seek resources, such as utilizing professional development opportunities or joining coalitions. Even though we may feel limited due to the education and immigration policies that take into place, it is essential that we support undocumented youth in the United States when at times we may also be in despair during this time of ambiguity and distress.

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References Chavez, M. L., Soriano, M., & Oliverez, P. (2007). Undocumented students' access to college: The American dream denied. Latino Studies, 5(2), 254-263. Flores, A. (2016), Forms of exclusion: Undocumented students navigating financial aid and inclusion in the United States. American Ethnologist, 43: 540–554. Gildersleeve, R.E., & Ranero, J.J. (2010). Precollege contexts of undocumented students: Implications for student affairs professionals. New Directions for Student Services, 2010(131), 19-33. Gildersleeve, R.E., Rumann, C., & Mondragón, R. (2010). Serving undocumented students: Current law and policy. New Directions for Student Services, 2010(131), 5-18. Gladieux, L. E. (1995, October). Federal student aid policy: A history and an assessment. Paper presented at Financing Postsecondary Education: The Federal Role, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC. Retrieved from https://www2.ed.gov/offices/OPE/PPI/ FinPostSecEd/gladieux.html Green, T. C. (2005). Financial aid, access, and America’s social contract with higher education. College & University, 80 (3), 9 - 13. National Immigration Law Center. (2017, November). Basic facts about in-state tuition for undocumented immigrant students. Retrieved from https://www.nilc.org/issues/education/basic-facts-instate.html Nguyen, D.H.K., & Martinez Hoy, Z.R. (2015). "Jim Crowing" Plyler v. Doe: The resegregation of undocumented students in American higher education through discriminatory state tuition and fee legislation. Cleveland State Law Review, 63(2), 355371.

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Nguyen, D.H.K., & Serna, G.R. (2014). Access or Barrier? Tuition and Fee Legislation for Undocumented Students across the States. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 87(3), 124-129. Nienhusser, H. K., Vega, B. E., & Saavedra Carquin, M. (2015). Bridging the gap: Guiding the college search of undocumented students. Journal of College Admission, (229), 30-34. Passel, J.S., & Cohn, D. (2016, September 20). Overall number of U.S. unauthorized immigrants holds steady since 2009. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewhispanic.org/2016/09/20/overall-number-of-u-s-unauthorizedimmigrants-holds-steady-since-2009.html Thelin, J.R. (2011). A history of American higher education (2nd ed.). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. United States Department of Education. (2015). Resource guide: supporting undocumented youth [PDF file]. Retrieved from https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/focus/supportingundocumented-youth.pdf