A Sense of Belonging: The People and Counterspaces Latinx Undocu/DACAmented Collegians Use to Persist

Abstract

Guided by sense of belonging and counterspaces, this critical ethnographic study investigates the people, places, and spaces collegians that are Latinx and undocu/DACAmented use to persist toward graduation amidst an ongoing anti-im/migrant sociopolitical climate. Findings reveal that (a) connections built with peers who share racial backgrounds and have liminal legal statuses, (b) supportive and affirming faculty, (c) access to culturally-based student organizations and academic programs, and (d) campus departments and programs catered to the holistic support of undocu/DACAmented collegians are salient for these students’ sense of belonging in college, though belongingness is not fully attainable in the United States as a result of racist nativism. Recommendations for research and practice are offered for higher education institutional agents at all levels.

Centering BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) Perspectives: Strengthening the Efficacy of DEI Initiatives through Shared Understanding

“…Multiculturalism is the shared belief in promoting appreciation, celebration, and preservation of social and cultural differences but the college classroom and workplace often lack this (Akpapuna et al, 2020). In college classrooms, literature suggests that when student's racial identities are concealed or not fully understood and seen by their peers, they feel isolated (Santa-Ramirez, 2022, Mena et. Al., 2022, Tyson et.…”

“…A lack of multiculturalism and diversity in the classroom has permeating effects on BIPOC individuals and are highlighted heavily within the sociocultural interactions between BIPOC members and their White counterparts. Ignoring racial implications within classrooms and the workplace are ineffective methods to providing BIPOC members with equitable experiences and largely breeds feelings of isolation, as well as insincere allyship and a false reality of the racial climate (Roche & Passmore, 2020, Akpapuna et al, 2020, Kafta, 2023, Mena et al, 2022, Bahia & Park, 2022, Santa-Ramirez, 2022.…”

What does it mean to belong? An interdisciplinary integration of theory and research on belonging

“…Campuses play a critical role in addressing these considerations. Efforts can include offering: more financial support; designated safe spaces on campus where empathetic institutional agents are well‐informed about relevant legislation and policy; holistic counseling related to mental well‐being, legal aid, or academic support; opportunities to engage civically in issues that impact this student population; or funding for student organizations or programming where students can connect about their shared and unique narratives (Santa‐Ramirez, 2022; Suárez‐Orozco et al., 2015). Attending to the legal factors, thus, also considers autobiographical, relational, cultural, and economic factors of place‐belongingness.…”

Editor's Note: Equitable and humanizing research, policy, and practice with and for undocumented collegians in the United States

“…Exclusion, racist nativism, xenophobia, and anti‐im/migrant rhetoric targeting racially minoritized undocumented im/migrants in the United States are well documented (Pérez Huber et al., 2008; Pérez Huber, 2021). In recent decades, collegians who are undocumented have been direct targets of exclusionary legislation and emboldened anti‐im/migrant rhetoric, causing hostile sociopolitical and campus climates for those with liminal legal statuses (Gonzales, 2016; Hall, 2022; Muñoz, 2015; Nienhusser, 2018; Santa‐Ramirez, 2022a, 2022b). For example, during his run for election for the 2016 presidency, former President Donald Trump used his campaign platform to spew racist rhetoric and xenophobic ideologies to gain political support, with his attacks predominantly focused on undocumented Latinx communities and how they are a danger to the United States when they “cross” over the southern border (Pérez Huber, 2021).…”

“…Some of these supportive campus communities include legal services, counseling, and supportive affinity groups (Cisneros et al., 2022; Munoz & Santa‐Ramirez, 2022; Suárez‐Orozco et al., 2015). Further, there has been a push on humanizing and ethical research by, with, and alongside these collegians and community members (e.g., Abrego & Negrón‐Gonzales, 2020; Hall, 2022; Salazar, 2021a, 2021b; Santa‐Ramirez, 2022a, 2022b). Additionally, there has been laudable scholarship on undocumented student belongingness (e.g., Santa‐Ramirez, 2022a; Valdez & Golash‐Boza, 2020), the barriers these scholars often encounter with access to and persistence in higher education and their postsecondary pathways (e.g., Aguilar, 2019; Corral & Luedke, 2023; Nienhusser, 2018), their various skills, cultural capital, and assets (e.g., Luedke, 2020; Santa‐Ramirez, 2021; Suárez‐Orozco et al., 2015), and their advocacy, activism, and resistance efforts (e.g., Escudero, 2020; Santa‐Ramirez, 2022b; Muñoz, 2015).…”