The present study sets out to understand the interlocking experiences of undocumented status and queer identities as immigrant young adults pursue higher education degrees in the United States. A framework for future research is presented, which 1) is based on a queer understanding of the construction of legality, 2) posits that a multiply…

Immigration and education policies between state and federal levels often push students into a cyclical web of contradictions that replicate systemic injustices and leave many students in a conundrum of uncertainty to their access and continued eligibility to attend higher education. Drawing from Critical Race Theory (CRT), Latino Critical Theory…

This qualitative, phenomenological case study was designed to illuminate the perceptions and experiences of eight undocumented community college students navigating the California public higher education systems with the aim of identifying factors associated with college persistence. These factors fall into three categories: financial, academic,…

Every year, thousands of undocumented, unaccompanied immigrant youth take dangerous journeys to the United States only to be apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) upon arrival. These youth, who are both involuntary and voluntary immigrants, are then faced with the challenge of having to navigate the complex contexts of the legal…

The study detailed the life history of a family of five, Georgia high school graduates, undocumented students using semi-structured interviews. Because the five participants were all of Latino descent and undocumented students, their lived experiences were expected to add to the relatively young research concerning the sensitive, yet powerful,…

Recent research on education and Latina/o immigrants has indicated an escalating crisis, but few studies have focused on why so few immigrant students participate in higher education, or why many leave college before receiving degrees. Past research has been largely quantitative or theoretical, and offered little qualitative insight into the…