Undocumented Students

As of 2017, the United States was home to approximately 11 million undocumented people, of whom nearly 2 million immigrated as children. Annually, an estimated 65,000 undocumented youths who have resided in the United States for 5 or more years graduate from high school. Between 200,000 and 225,000 undocumented students are enrolled in institutions of higher education and are largely concentrated in community colleges. Higher education institutions and their agents must pay close attention to the increasing enrollment of undocumented students in U.S. colleges and universities in order to support the educational access, retention, and persistence of this historically marginalized student population. Far too often, the lack of institutional awareness of the multiple challenges faced by undocumented students results in deleterious educational outcomes for this ...