Impacts
Undocumented students repeatedly run into barriers when trying to obtain higher education. Some complications include finding a higher education facility that doesn’t bar undocumented students from being accepted. Even if undocumented students are successfully granted admission into a college or university, they are soon faced with financial barriers like a requirement that they pay out of state tuition despite being in their state of residence. On top of the out of state tuition, undocumented students are not eligible for financial aid, grants, scholarships or student loans.
This financial assistance could benefit the 39% of undocumented students who live below the federal poverty line (Kim and Diaz, 2013, p. 80). This is a barrier …show more content…
However, these barriers prove to be even more challenging when these children move from adolescence into adulthood. This is because many of these children’s parents brought them to the U.S at a young age in hopes of greater economic opportunity, and provisions for their families. Therefore, these children are able to grow up in the U.S, enroll in primary and secondary school, become integrated into society, and be accepted by peers and teachers. However, the life they have come to know may come to a disturbing halt as they learn about their undocumented status for the first time. As these students have come to the U.S with their parents at an early age, they are known as the 1.5 generation (Gonzales, 2011). This generation is hit extremely hard when they come across the barriers of trying to reach higher education and employment; the struggle becomes circular as one may lead to the other and neither are easily obtainable without legal status (Gonzales, …show more content…
They are at a very critical stage in their lives where they are forming their personal and cultural identity. Having undocumented status brings on psychological stress which has often been associated with depression and anxiety, feelings of isolation, increased psychosomatic symptoms, and personal identity confusion (Ellis and Chen, 2013, p. 252). Having undocumented status has also been linked to limited socio-economic mobility, poor educational performance, and a lack of social belonging (Suarez-Orozco and Yoshikawa, 2013, p. 70). One of many significant stressors contributing to this could be fear of deportation. A survey of 909 undocumented students reported that, “the vast majority of undocumented college students (84.6%) reported worrying about the deportation or detainment of family or friends, while 76.1% reported worrying about being detained or deported themselves” (In the shadows, p. 6). They are also at risk of dropping out, underachieving, and engaging in illegal activities because there is little incentive in completing high school, especially since there is no guarantee that college is a possibility for them (Kim, 2013, p. 57).
Theory
Theory can provide important understanding into ‘how’ and ‘why’ a specific social problem is taking place. In the case of undocumented students, there are a few key theories that help to explain why this population
Undocumented students repeatedly run into barriers when trying to obtain higher education. Some complications include finding a higher education facility that doesn’t bar undocumented students from being accepted. Even if undocumented students are successfully granted admission into a college or university, they are soon faced with financial barriers like a requirement that they pay out of state tuition despite being in their state of residence. On top of the out of state tuition, undocumented students are not eligible for financial aid, grants, scholarships or student loans.
This financial assistance could benefit the 39% of undocumented students who live below the federal poverty line (Kim and Diaz, 2013, p. 80). This is a barrier …show more content…
However, these barriers prove to be even more challenging when these children move from adolescence into adulthood. This is because many of these children’s parents brought them to the U.S at a young age in hopes of greater economic opportunity, and provisions for their families. Therefore, these children are able to grow up in the U.S, enroll in primary and secondary school, become integrated into society, and be accepted by peers and teachers. However, the life they have come to know may come to a disturbing halt as they learn about their undocumented status for the first time. As these students have come to the U.S with their parents at an early age, they are known as the 1.5 generation (Gonzales, 2011). This generation is hit extremely hard when they come across the barriers of trying to reach higher education and employment; the struggle becomes circular as one may lead to the other and neither are easily obtainable without legal status (Gonzales, …show more content…
They are at a very critical stage in their lives where they are forming their personal and cultural identity. Having undocumented status brings on psychological stress which has often been associated with depression and anxiety, feelings of isolation, increased psychosomatic symptoms, and personal identity confusion (Ellis and Chen, 2013, p. 252). Having undocumented status has also been linked to limited socio-economic mobility, poor educational performance, and a lack of social belonging (Suarez-Orozco and Yoshikawa, 2013, p. 70). One of many significant stressors contributing to this could be fear of deportation. A survey of 909 undocumented students reported that, “the vast majority of undocumented college students (84.6%) reported worrying about the deportation or detainment of family or friends, while 76.1% reported worrying about being detained or deported themselves” (In the shadows, p. 6). They are also at risk of dropping out, underachieving, and engaging in illegal activities because there is little incentive in completing high school, especially since there is no guarantee that college is a possibility for them (Kim, 2013, p. 57).
Theory
Theory can provide important understanding into ‘how’ and ‘why’ a specific social problem is taking place. In the case of undocumented students, there are a few key theories that help to explain why this population