“Just being undocumented you gotta find loopholes”: Policy enactment of an in-state resident tuition policy.

Abstract

Access to higher education varies across states for undocumented students (with or without Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals [DACA]). In-state resident tuition policies (ISRTs) provide eligible undocumented students to pay in-state tuition rates at public universities and colleges. This qualitative study examines interviews from institutional agents and undocumented students at one institution to highlight how an ISRT policy is enacted by institutional agents and how undocumented students use their experiential knowledge to create unique approaches to navigate access to the policy. This research untangles the complexities of making policy decisions that dictate the educational experiences of historically marginalized populations. Situating the voices of institutional agents and undocumented students is significant to understand how institutional agents' actions can determine, disrupt, or empower the educational trajectories of undocumented students. ISRT and financial aid policies are situated within the epicenter of contradicting ideological and political landscapes of federal, state, and institutional policies and procedures. To enact these policies, institutional agents must navigate multifaceted contexts, including multiple layers of policy, their commitment to facilitate access to students, as well as their individual beliefs on immigration. Findings in this study uncover multiple approaches to policy compliance and how power and privilege can undergird enactment. Undocumented students highlight how institutional agents can use their privilege to support undocumented students by "finding loopholes," negotiating restrictive language in policy text, and crossdepartmental collaborations to maximize access.

Street‐level immigrant policy implementation: The role of school counselors

“…Counselors who feel that their institutions would benefit from such training choose to attend them, which requires them to already be aware of the presence of undocumented students and the challenges they encounter. This view assumes that counselors consider undocumented students to be members of the "deserving" student population to whom they feel they should provide services, which would echo what scholars have found regarding the level of discretion exercised by school personnel in regard to the type and volume of services provided to their undocumented populations (Bell & Smith, 2022;Castrell on, 2021;Jones-Correa, 2008;Marrow, 2009;Nienhusser, 2014). However, our results indicate that less than half of counselors seem to act on this view and seek out training, which moderates the idea of service-oriented counselors presented in the literature.…”

“…The literature has demonstrated that traditional actors in high schools rarely have enough knowledge to adequately help undocumented youths apply and transition to college, despite this population's reliance on institutional support to do so (Enriquez, 2011; Lauby, 2017; Nienhusser et al, 2016; Szelenyi & Chang, 2002). We also know that even when government policies toward undocumented immigrants are restrictive, some “service‐oriented” school personnel may take steps to provide services to their clients (Bell & Smith, 2022; Castrellón, 2021; Crawford et al, 2019; Jones‐Correa, 2008; Marrow, 2009; Nienhusser, 2014; Oseguera et al, 2010; Stanton‐Salazar, 2011). These steps, along with resources provided by their institutions, can help undocumented youths to perform better in high school and actually transition to college (Abrego, 2008; Chen et al, 2010; Gonzales, 2010; Gonzales et al, 2015; Nienhusser, 2018; Portes & Fernandez‐Kelly, 2008).…”

“…This is when counselors act as “empowerment agent[s],” described by Stanton‐Salazar (2011) as “those adults willing to go counter to the established and hierarchical social structures” (p. 1089) to provide resources and competencies. Castrellón (2021) uses the concept of “critical policy compliance” to describe ways in which institutional agents can work “within the confines of a policy to maximize students' opportunity by leveraging the resources and policies available to them” (p. 8).…”

Postsecondary pathways for undocumented Latina/o students: The different roads to and through bachelor’s degree attainment.

“…This is demonstrated, on the one hand, as several institutions facilitated identity-based organizations that most of our participants relied on to navigate college for social, emotional, and financial support. On the other hand, the lack of systematicity with regard to tuition policies highlights a failure by these institutions to provide clear, consistent, and up-to-date information for undocumented students (Castrello ´n, 2022;Enriquez et al, 2019). Moreover, creating barriers to access the information that would support their persistence created additional challenges.…”

“…Department of Education, 2015; Zong & Batalova, 2019). Previous research has documented numerous barriers to accessing postsecondary education for this population, such as paying for college (Flores, 2010), lack of support at the high school level (Nienhusser, 2013), limited support from higher education institutional agents (Castrellón, 2022; Luedke & Corral, 2021), and other social and psychological issues (Cadenas & Nienhusser, 2021; Chang, 2011; Perez & Cortes, 2011; Torres-Olave et al, 2021). This research is important to our knowledge regarding undocumented student access and transition into higher education as it highlights the impact of policies and environments conducive toward college-going and navigating college more generally.…”