In Retrospect: The Educational and Personal Journey of Undocumented Students at a 4-year Institution

• In Event: Navigating Access and Opportunity: Examining Challenges, Resistance, and Possibilities of Undocumented Students' Success in California

Abstract

​​Purpose, Significance & Theoretical Framework: The oral history project aims to explore the role and impact of undocumented student members of a student-led organization at a four-year institution (Yosso & Benavides López 2010). This project focuses on the historical significance and influence of undocumented student activists as well as their educational journeys (Gonzales, 2008; Negrón-Gonzales, 2014). Understanding the creation and development of this organization contributes to a deeper understanding of student activism within the undocumented student movement at higher education institutions (e.g., Anguiano & Gutierrez Najera, 2015; Gonzales, 2008; Gonzales et al., 2013; Muñoz, 2016; Suárez-Orozco et al., 2015). This study is grounded in critical race theory (CRT), which will provide a lens to explore the systemic barriers and resilience faced by undocumented students (e.g., Solórzano & Delgado Bernal; 2001Solórzano & Yosso, 2001). Furthermore, CRT centers on the counterstories of undocumented students and explores how student activism shaped their lived experiences and their academic outcomes. This framework calls attention to the challenges faced by undocumented immigrants pursuing a college education (Yosso, 2005).

Methods & Data Sources: The paper will employ a qualitative approach, specifically an oral history methodology (Roque Ramírez, 2002 & 2022), to highlight the lived experiences of undocumented students during this time period. This approach empowers participants by giving them control over the narrative and allowing them to provide a more detailed personal narrative and experience (Borland, 2002; Graham, 2009; Wheeler, 2005). In addition, placing these narratives in conversation with the archival materials and an analysis of the literature and social-political contexts of the time, I seek to examine the historical account. The semi-structured interviews will take the form of counterstories and will be conducted with former members of the undocumented student group. These interviews will be complemented by archival sources related to the undocumented student advocacy taking place during this time (Garcia & Yosso, 2020). Also, personal artifacts contributed by participants (e.g., pictures, flyers, documents) will be collected to contribute to the archives (Antracoli, et al., 2020 and Fernheimer, et al., 2018).

Preliminary Results & Scholarly Significance: The oral accounts, supported by archives, suggest that student-led organizations played a critical role in advocating for the rights and needs of undocumented students at this four-year institution. Furthermore, the organization provided a supportive community and influenced institutional policies and practices but also state legislation. The final results of this research will be presented in the final defense of the dissertation and in related academic publications. This research project contributes to the long-standing historical understanding of undocumented student activism and its impact on higher education. The findings inform future advocacy and policy efforts supporting undocumented students pursuing higher education. This work not only contributes to the scholarship on undocumented students (Abrego, 2008; Contreras, 2009; Pérez Huber & Malagon, 2007) but also to the historical record of these ongoing issues affecting undocumented students.

Author

• Miriam G. Delgado, University of California - Riverside