Undocumented Disadvantage, Citizen Advantage, or Both? Comparative Educational Outcomes of Second and 1.5-Generation Latino Young Adults

• In Event: 462 - Section on Children and Youth Paper Session. Immigrant Children and Children of Immigration: New Perspectives on Children's Experiences in a Changing Policy Environment

Abstract

Sociolegal research has theorized a widening gap not just between undocumented and documented immigrants, but also between citizens and non-citizens generally. However, research on Latino immigrants’ educational outcomes has been largely unable to distinguish between legal statuses, perhaps partially explaining why studies of immigrant advantage have come to inconsistent conclusions for Latinos. Using unique survey data from second generation (2G), 1.5-generation naturalized citizen (NC), 1.5-generation lawful permanent resident (LPR), and 1.5-generation undocumented Latino young adults in California, I explore how legal status and citizenship impact high school grades and completion, college enrollment, and educational aspirations. I find evidence that noncitizen (undocumented and LPR) youth are relatively more disadvantaged and exhibit lower educational outcomes than their 2G or NC peers, suggesting both an undocumented disadvantage and a citizenship advantage. Variables for high school tracking are also highly significant predictors of educational outcomes across models, suggesting that Latino immigrant children are incorporating into a stratified U.S. educational system. However, I find no evidence of significant differences in educational aspirations between legal status groups, providing partial support for the immigrant optimism hypothesis. Findings suggest that scholarship on immigrant integration should pay closer attention to legal contexts of reception.

Author

• Caitlin Patler, University of California-Irvine