Aspirational Citizenship: Undocumented Advocates' Claims to Status, Rights, and Belonging

• In Event: Hilton Roundtable Session 20
  In Roundtable Session: Immigrant and Migrant Student Experiences and Academic Achievement

Abstract

Questions of immigration and citizenship have been longstanding and long-contested throughout the history of the United States. Today’s political climate highlights the severity of sustained misunderstandings, misconceptions, and outright confusion within the general populace regarding issues of immigration, including questions impacting asylees, refugees, and undocumented immigrant communities. While the issue of “immigration” encompasses a wide variety of legal circumstances, national origins, languages, and racial backgrounds, the purpose of this paper is to focus specifically on undocumented students and communities interacting with the K-12 and higher education systems. This paper proposes the concept of “aspirational citizenship” as a tool to better educators’ awareness, knowledge, and interactions with undocumented students and families.

Author

• Chloe Latham Sikes, The University of Texas - Austin