“This Place..Immigration Knocks on My Door. Where Do I Belong?”: Examining Undocumented Youth Experiences of Discrimination in the U.S. South

• In Event: Immigrants, Refugees, and Undocumented: Speaking Truth to Power

Abstract

This paper examines undocumented immigrant youth experiences of identity formation and schooling in a restrictive southern state. The study offers insight into the differences among recently arrived undocumented youth with undocumented youth that came to the U.S. during early childhood and that benefit from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program initiated under the Obama administration. Drawing on data from an exploratory comparative case study (Yin, 2014), the paper argues that undocumented youth face constraints navigating the educational process due to a larger process of racialization and limited educational opportunities and institutional supports in high poverty schools. Despite the negative schooling and societal encounters they have with racism and stereotyping, these youth critique social policy and institutions that seek to limit their progress in society.

Authors

• Sophia Rodriguez, University of North Carolina, Greensboro

• Timothy Monreal, University of South Carolina