Sociology
Document Type
Article
Abstract
For undocumented students, the high school–to–college pipeline is filled with social, economic, and psychological stressors. Yet very little is known about the impact of legal status on the experiences of undocumented Latinx college students living in states without tuition equity policies. Using qualitative data from 37 interviews exploring undocumented college students’ educational trajectories in Massachusetts and North Carolina, the authors examine the impact of legal status on the emotional well-being of undocumented Latinx students, including those who benefited from Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. The findings show that even when undocumented students gain access to higher education, barriers to legal status generate chronic feelings of despair and hopelessness that persist throughout their educational trajectories. Additionally, the authors find that academic motivation and persistence do not always equate with emotional resilience. The authors propose strategies to help facilitate emotional well-being for undocumented students.
Publication Title
Socius
Publication Date
2022
Volume
8
ISSN
2378-0231
DOI
10.1177/23780231221135966
Keywords
DACA, emotional well-being, higher education, Latinx, undocumented students
Repository Citation
Bazo Vienrich, Alessandra and Torres Stone, Rosalie A., "The Educational Trajectories of Latinx Undocumented Students: Illegality and Threats to Emotional Well-Being" (2022). Sociology. 7.
https://commons.clarku.edu/faculty_sociology/7
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Copyright Conditions
Bazo Vienrich, A., & Torres Stone, R. A. (2022). The educational trajectories of Latinx undocumented students: Illegality and threats to emotional well-being. Socius, 8, 23780231221135966.