Dreams Delayed: Barriers to Degree Completion among Undocumented Community College Students

Abstract

Community colleges in the United States (US) remain relatively accessible to students from immigrant families. However, undocumented immigrant students encounter difficulties in staying continuously enrolled in community colleges because they contend with multiple disadvantages. These students often ‘stop out’, or withdraw with intentions to return. This mixed-methods study explores the non-continuous enrolment of students from immigrant families. Drawing on survey data from a randomly selected sample of community college students in California, logistic regression results indicate that although the children of immigrants exhibit an ‘immigrant advantage’ with respect to staying continuously enrolled in community college, those who remain undocumented stop out at disproportionately high rates. Through a comparative analysis of 80 semi-structured interviews with undocumented immigrants and US citizens, I outline the multidimensional ways in which a precarious legal status interferes with students' postsecondary schooling. Specifically, I suggest that undocumented students' legal status often leads them to stop out due to corresponding financial hardship, sub-standard employment options, the precarious legal status of other undocumented family members who rely on their earnings, and excessive stress. This study offers evidence that the condition of ‘illegality’ functions as a ‘master status’ that has an overpowering effect on students' college pathways.

A ‘master status’ or the ‘final straw’? Assessing the role of immigration status in Latino undocumented youths’ pathways out of school

“…locations (Gleeson and Gonzales 2012;Gonzales 2015;Terriquez 2015). However, these findings are based largely on the experiences of high-achieving, undocumented college students and undocumented youth who have transitioned to adulthood.…”

“…Many undocumented youth remain unaware of supportive educational policies because they are not embedded in networks with school officials, community leaders, or other undocumented students (Enriquez 2011;Gonzales 2010;Silver 2012). Although in-state tuition policies increase undocumented students' college enrollment rates and decrease high school drop-out rates (Flores 2010;Greenman and Hall 2013), financial barriers still disrupt educational pathways by forcing individuals to sacrifice study time to work, enroll in less expensive community colleges instead of four-year universities, take time off when they cannot afford tuition, or stop out (Abrego and Gonzales 2010;Diaz-Strong et al 2011;Terriquez 2015). Additionally, undocumented students often experience institutional neglect when schools are not prepared to meet their specific needs, may have limited social and emotional support when they do not reveal their immigration status to others, or may face antiimmigrant sentiment; all these factors can discourage their persistence (Perez Huber and Malagon 2007;Perez et al 2009).…”

“…Many studies have addressed how immigration status and low socioeconomic status work together to raise undocumented youths' financial barriers to higher education (Diaz-Strong et al 2011;Terriquez 2015). Attention to this intersection likely stems from the interconnected nature of these two statuses as undocumented immigrants are unable to work legally and have a heightened risk of wage theft (Fussell 2011;Gleeson 2010;Kossoudji and Cobb-Clark 2002).…”

“…Building on this, Terriquez (2015) explores the multiple ways that immigration status leads to stop out among otherwise high-achieving undocumented college students and suggests that "the condition of illegality functions as a 'master status' that has an overpowering effect on students' college pathways" (1303). Offering a caveat, Gonzales (2015) argues that illegality emerges as a master status upon the transition to adulthood.…”

Gendering Illegality: Undocumented Young Adults’ Negotiation of the Family Formation Process

“…Scholars have established that undocumented status limits the incorporation of 1.5-generation young adults and some contend that it is a "master status" that eclipses other social locations (Gleeson & Gonzales, 2012;Gonzales, 2015;Terriquez, 2015). However, this framing does not account for the ways in which social locations, like gender, influence immigrant incorporation.…”