"Como Una Jaula De Oro" (It's Like a Golden Cage): The Impact of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and the California Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act on Undocumented Chicanas/Latinas

• In Event: Roundtable Session 13
  In Roundtable Session: Immigration, Policy, and Latina/o Students Across Learning Contexts

Abstract

This study utilizes a Latina/o Critical Theory (LatCrit) framework to examine how undocumented and formerly undocumented Chicana/Latina college graduates are impacted by the California DREAM Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, S 1291) and DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), recent state and federal policies meant to increase educational and economic opportunities for undocumented youth who meet certain requirements. Findings indicate that the historical contradictions of access and restriction of legal protections and opportunities for the undocumented continue with these policies and become lived in the daily experiences of the study participants. Longitudinal data includes interviews 38 interviews conducted with 10 participants from 2008-2014, during and after their undergraduate educations.

Author

• Lindsay Perez Huber, California State University - Long Beach