Resources for Undocumented Students and Mixed Status Families

Prior research has established that undocumented immigrant experiences are dynamic, reflecting the complex web of immigration-related policies that create legal vulnerability. As such, undocumented college students' experiences must be situated in their current policy context. Drawing on descriptive analyses of a survey of 1,277 undocumented 4-year college students in California, we examine how undocumented students are faring in a relatively inclusive policy context. Results demonstrate the heterogeneity of undocumented student experiences and unpack the challenges they confront while also demonstrating the ways they thrive. We document how respondents are performing across a variety of academic, well-being, and civic and political engagement outcomes. We also show that undocumented students' perceptions of legal vulnerability are complex and varied, taking into account family-level legal vulnerability and individual protections. Further, students perceive campuses as fairly welcoming spaces, with some differences arising across the two university systems. Ultimately, we argue that undocumented college students' experiences merit more nuanced and contextualized analysis.

The future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, as well as the welfare of its recipients, in the United State has become a constant feature in the news since President Trump announced his intentions to end the program in September 2017. In response, a social movement of significance was engineered utilizing social media as one of its core pillars to support the program. This study analyzes the content of tweets with the #DefendDACA hashtag, tweeted within 30 days of Trump’s initial announcement, in order to understand the intersection of digital activism and DACA, including functions, purpose, and tone. Results from the analysis found tweets primarily centered on call-to-action, asking participants to defend DACA. Tweets also disseminated vital information, particularly with a positive tone. These findings aid in explaining the movement’s strength.

Students who are the first in their families to attend college and have Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status, question whether they will be welcomed, accepted, and safe in their relationships and on campus. Setting the stage for this paper, the authors provide definitional overviews of DACA, first-generation to college status, and Latinx as foundational information for working with and mentorship. Next, the article presents the theoretical model and discussion of experiences of many Latinx first-generation college undocumented/DACAmented students' sense of belonging in higher education. The authors end with implications and recommendations for university personnel.

We use a "testimonio" methodology to examine how engaging in a research collective designed "with" and "for," and comprised "by" current and former undocumented scholars promoted our development, persistence, and professional preparedness. We argue that research collectives initiated through participatory action research serve as counterspaces for revelation, validation, resistance, empowerment, and liberation for undocumented students. We conclude with recommendations on how faculty can become empowerment agents and create these critical spaces in higher education.

This article examines the educational trajectory of a multiply marginalized undocumented Latinx student. Utilizing a Critical Race Quantitative Intersectional + "Testimonio," this article brings to light the experiential knowledge often not visible in quantitative data approaches, helping to contextualize educational pipeline numbers. This study draws on a "testimonio" methodology revealing challenges and illuminating educational pathways from high school to the doctorate. The findings show important considerations for policy and practice that account for social instability, consider the importance of mentorship, and offer implications for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion leaders to create greater belonging across campuses throughout the educational pipeline.

To inform higher education and student affairs (HESA) professionals who work with college students outside of the classroom, we asked the research question: How do undocumented Latinx college students use aspirational capital to navigate higher education? Aspirational capital is the ability to maintain hopes and dreams for the future in the face of real and perceived barriers and is one form of community cultural wealth (CCW), which offers an assets-based understanding of how Students of Color in educational settings share knowledge accumulated within their communities (Yosso, 2005). We analyzed data from semi-structured interviews with 16 undocumented Latinx college students from four-year institutions of higher education throughout the US. Participant narratives reflected aspirational capital in their future orientation despite the extreme uncertainty they faced regarding immigration status-related challenges. Participants demonstrated a sense of purpose through perseverance, faith, and helping others, and they exhibited high educational and career aspirations focused on giving back to others. Implications provide insight for HESA educators to proactively serve undocumented students, including building knowledge communities and networks and updating graduate preparation programs. These recommendations can help HESA educators explore ways to support undocumented college students with a focus on their aspirational capital.

Using "testimonios," we highlight six current university Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students' funds of knowledge, or the lived experiences and culturally developed skills, specific to being DACA recipients, that these students leveraged in the past, currently lean on now for continued success, and learn what resources are lacking at university. Sharing these students' "DACA funds of knowledge," of navigating public education to successfully attend institutions of higher education, provides insight into equitable educational paths for those who follow.

In response to the barriers that undocumented students face in postsecondary education, some colleges and universities are striving to enhance their undocu-competence -- the capacity to serve, support, and advocate for undocumented students. One way that institutions are demonstrating this is by establishing Undocumented Student Resource Centers (USRCs). This qualitative study examined the ways in which USRCs support undocumented students and contribute to institutional efforts at enhancing undocu-competence. Findings indicate that USRCs are student-encompassed spaces that provide customized and comprehensive care for undocumented students. Moreover, despite being under-resourced, their impact is campus-wide, largely through building and sustaining undocu-allies. Implications for research and practice are included.

The author outlines an innovative “private-ish” fundraising model for undocumented students that can work at public universities despite legal constraints on “public benefits” while disrupting orthodox assumptions and practices in higher education. This fundraising model is based upon three *572 principles of design-driven innovation: 1) organizing around the underutilized human capital strengths of undocumented students and allies as social justice agents of change; 2) scaffolding onto a field-tested college structure that can help undocumented activist students and allies engage in organizing in ways that are woven into in a student's typical week of college; and 3) combining conditions of scale-up and public-private partnerships, including “infrastructure adjacency” and “force multipliers” to boost fundraising capacity.