Foiled Aspirations: The Influence of Unauthorized Status on the Educational Expectations of Latino Immigrant Youth

Abstract

Latino immigrant adolescents have the highest high school dropout rates of any race-ethnic or nativity group in the United States. One potential reason for high dropout rates among Latino immigrant youth is that many are unauthorized entrants. These unauthorized Latino immigrant youth have few opportunities to attend college, and, as they become aware of barriers to their educational progress and employment, they may lower their educational expectations. Using data from the Latino Adolescent Migration, Health, and Adaptation Project (N=275), we examine the association of unauthorized entry into the U.S. with the educational expectations of Latino immigrant youth. We find that adolescents entering the U.S. without authorization have lower educational expectations than those who enter with authorization. These differences in their expectations persist after controlling for differences in their pre-migration, migration, and post-migration experiences. Policies and programs that reduce barriers to higher education and labor market opportunities can potentially help to foster higher educational expectations among unauthorized immigrant youth and may promote their high school completion.

Charting Directions for Research on Immigrant Children Affected by Undocumented Status

“…Undocumented youths' development is fractured by the realities of their precarious or nonexistent legal status, particularly as they exit the K-12 educational system, with significant implications for their social relationships, mental health, and well-being (Gonzales, 2015). Undocumented youth are susceptible to depression, anxiety, and even suicidality, particularly in adolescence when they fully "awaken" to the reality of their status and the limitations it places on their dreams and aspirations (Gonzales, 2013;Perreira & Spees, 2015). Unaccompanied minors, who experience the stress and potential traumas of migration in the absence of a stable caregiver, are at increased risk for internalizing symptoms (depression, anxiety, withdrawal, low selfesteem), externalizing symptoms (irritability, aggression), and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms (Carlson, Cacciatore, & Klimek, 2012; U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops: Migration & Refugee Services, 2012).…”

Family Matters

“…In NC, they cannot. Moreover, recent research has shown the legal status of both parents and children can influence the family environment and children’s academic adaptation (Dreby, 2012; Gonzales, 2011; Perreira & Spees, 2015). Future research should collect this information.…”

“…Some Latino parents explicitly migrate to the U.S. to provide their adolescents with more opportunity and a better education (Perreira & Spees, 2015). Consequently, they set high educational expectations for their adolescents and communicate these expectations and hopes to them (Perreira, Chapman, & Livas-Stein 2006).…”

“…Family–school involvement pertains to the various ways in which families work to support their children’s schooling through setting academic expectations, communicating with their adolescents about schooling, and potentially assisting them with navigating the school system (Desimone, 1999). Some Latino parents explicitly migrate to the United States to provide their adolescents with more opportunity and a better education (Perreira & Spees, 2015). Consequently, they set high educational expectations for their adolescents and communicate these expectations and hopes to them (Perreira, Chapman, & Livas-Stein, 2006).…”

Educational Expectations among Immigrant Youth: Links to Segmented Assimilation and School Context

“…First-generation youth expect to achieve significantly higher levels of attainment than their second- or third-generation counterparts (Feliciano and Lanuza 2016; Glick and White 2004; Raleigh and Kao 2010), whereas the second generation exhibits higher expectations than those from native-born families (Fuligni 1997; Kao and Tienda 1998). A number of factors influence the schooling attitudes of immigrant-origin youth, including parental optimism (Driscoll 1999; Kao 2004), access to parental resources (Lee and Zhou 2014; Rumberger et al 1990; Turney and Kao 2009), and legal status (Perreira and Spees 2015). Socioeconomic and family-based resources thus play a similarly important role in the development and trajectory of immigrant students’ orientation toward school.…”