Undocumented and Distracted: The Everyday Effects of Immigration Laws on the Academic Success of Undocumented College Students

• In Event: 1255 - Section on Latina/o Sociology Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 3. Educational Challenges and Success

Abstract

Undocumented college students continue to grapple with limited access to opportunities and mobility. Research has focused on how barriers to educational access and retention are created by immigration laws and policies at the macro-level. However, we know less about the role of immigration laws and policies in students’ academic experiences when educational access policies exist in states like California. I shift my focus to elucidate how macro-level immigration laws and policies still emerge at the micro level across academic contexts. I draw on data from the Undocumented Student Equity Project - 30 interviews with undocumented college students at a University of California campus. Immigration distractions are a micro-level manifestation of immigration laws and policies that negatively shape the academic engagement and performance of undocumented students. Distractions emerge following direct and socioemotional responses to immigration issues, including immigration enforcement, worries about the future, and preoccupations that affect students and their families. Distractions can result in students losing study time, missing class, failing exams, or repeating courses. Understanding immigration distractions and their impact contributes to theoretically situating the role of immigration laws and policies at the micro level with negative implications for long-term educational success.

Author

• Daniel Millán, University of California, Irvine