Undocumented Student Essay

Illegal immigrants in the United States (US) have long been a topic of debate for policymakers and the public. The rationale about them is that they do not pay taxes; they add to the costs of taxpayers and use up funds in resources meant for assisting citizens and legal immigrants (the legal citizens). Therefore, they are perceived as a threat to the US economy. The true impacts of illegal immigrants on the US economy are discussed by debating over the economic benefits as well as economic costs of these immigrants. The negative impacts, discussed first, presented the decreases in low skilled jobs’ wage rates for legal immigrants and citizens instigated by illegal immigrants, the social services such as educations and healthcare that they

If we talk about undocumented immigrants in United States, we usually focus on the benefits and jobs they take from our country, but have we ever stood in their shoes and imagine what life is like for an illegal immigrant? To live as an undocumented immigrant is a bad situation, but I believe to be a child of an undocumented immigrant is even worse, because their choices are limited and they are unaware of their rights to attend colleges. In this research, I will focus on undocumented immigrant students, who are unable to afford for higher education, and the fear of their unknown future which is mainly cause by their undocumented status. The largest invisible group in America, to explore “what are the struggles and unsolved problems of

Tales of Survival 101 for Undocumented Latina/o Immigrant University Students: Commentary and Recommendations From Qualitative Interviews

Growing up as a first-generation college-bound Hispanic woman has proven to be a difficult journey. Both of my parents left their home countries at a young age and came to this country without any ideas or real opportunities on where to begin. At a young age, I have been taught that having a higher education is the key to having a successful and plentiful life. However, the journey towards achieving my dream of receiving a higher education has been filled with moments where I have challenged the stereotypes about getting pregnant and dropping out of high school, facing my grandma’s unexpected illness that affected me both academically and mentally, and the challenge of being a first generation college bound student in my family.

Undocumented students are becoming a growing outrage in the United States. It has been a constant battle amongst the students, the schools, and the Government. According to collegeboard.com, statistics shows that 65,000 undocumented students graduate from U.S. high schools each year (collegeboard.com).After graduating high school they face legal and financial barriers to higher education. This paper will address the importance of this growing outrage and discuss the following that corresponds to it.

Day in and day out many immigrants enter the United States of America in search of greener pastures. This greener pasture includes higher educational prospects and lucrative jobs. However, life usually does not turn out as many of them usually anticipate. The expectation they usually have prior to their entry to the United States is partly due to the all rosary and nice things they hear about America. They hear such nice things from the media and also from diaspora’s who return from America to their homeland who usually don’t share their entire experiences with them. There have been quite a number of reports and research findings that outline the various challenges that are faced by immigrants in America. I personally share some of these issues as an international student in a foreign country. Prior to coming to Metropolitan State University, I had colleagues who told me about the school and their excellent environments that facilitate learning. Also other friends who were in America made me aware of the opportunity to work alongside schooling which made me more interested as I needed financial aid. With all these palatable information in mind, I did apply for the school and even though the tuition fee was quite expensive considering my socio economic background, I did apply having the mindset of working to meet up certain financial needs. Upon arrival in America, I realized that I was given a fraction of the entire picture. I wasn't allowed to work outside of campus,

The Hispanic/Latino community has been known to be underrepresented on college campuses, both at the community college and four-year university level. Factors such as low-income households, poor or harsh living conditions, under-educated parents, cultural and family commitments, and unfamiliarity with the college process, all serve as unfortunate barriers that keep Hispanic/Latino students from reaching the goal of attaining college degrees. Although these barriers keep many students from succeeding, many others overcome these obstacles and continue on their paths to creating a better future for themselves. They choose to look past the expectations that society has for them and break out of the stereotypical mold. However, Hispanic/Latino students face, yet, another challenge upon successfully making it on to a college campus... the challenge of graduating.

Cervantes, J. M., Minero, L. P., & Brito, E. (2015). Tales of survival 101 for undocumented Latina/o immigrant university students: Commentary and recommendations from qualitative interviews. Journal Of Latina/O Psychology, 3(4), 224-238. doi:10.1037/lat0000032

Many Latinos from Central America, South America, and Mexico have sacrificed their lives to immigrate to the United States to have a better life. Many have immigrated legally and many more have immigrated illegally. They all have a hope for what is called the American Dream. The ideal life that every United States citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success through hard work and education, determination and initiative. Latino Immigrants come to America for this hope, to have a good life, to have great education, to have rights, opportunities and so much more. Legal Latino immigrants have these opportunities and they don’t have to go through struggles and obstacles as much as illegal immigrants. Undocumented immigrants have always been the target for American government. They have always struggled with finding jobs, keeping a job, not getting paid enough, their educations, health services and so much more. The main purpose of this paper is the struggles and obstacles of undocumented Latino immigrants who have migrated to United States through education.

The “Undocumented Students” are youth who arrived to the United States as young children. These are young adults fighting hard to achieve their piece of the American Dream. Their experiences are emblematic of the struggles of millions of undocumented children and youth in America who deal daily with isolation from peers, the struggle to pursue an education, fears of detention and deportation and the trauma of separation from family and loved ones. Today there are one million children under 18 and 4.4 million under 30 undocumented young adults living in America and 11 Undocumented immigrants (American Psychological). Being undocumented negatively

The number of undocumented workers in the United States has increased since the rise of our economy. An undocumented worker is a person in a country, like the United States, without the right documents to be proven to be allowed in the country. Many reasons are blamed for the increase of these undocumented workers. Undocumented workers increased because the change in law of the United States made it impossible for foreign workers to go to the country (Zoltan). These laws made a chain of problems that the United States is still suffering today. One example of a problem is the decrease of American jobs. The problems of the United States caused by undocumented workers can be solved by supporting Mexico and other countries to make more jobs

Cal State University, San Marcos (CSUSM) paints itself as a champion of diversity and inclusiveness1. Recently, in an email entitled, Enhancing Campus Support for Undocumented Students, which was sent out to our campus community on March 28, 2017 these ideals were showcased. In this opinion piece, I am going to broadly address some of the points made about the AB 540 student population on campus; Specifically, their denial to paid student positions on campus and how despite CSUSM efforts to appear diverse and inclusive it falls short of these ideals.

On June 15, 2012, President Barack Obama passed an executive order, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), that helped to make it more possible for undocumented students to attend college. DACA’s passing has left administration at colleges and universities with differing approaches on how to support, or not, undocumented students attending their institution. However, there are still holes in the support for undocumented students in pursuing higher education. The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief overview of the undocumented student experience, discuss how it relates to Mount Holyoke College, offer viewpoints from the student and dean perspectives, and provide analysis of how the director of multicultural initiatives can support

An illegal immigrant defined, by law is a person of a foreign nationality immigrating to the US without the permission of the government. Many people view people who do come to the US without that permission as an “Illegal Immigrant”. And many of those people are viewed by other as criminals, but what makes them criminals. But what if someone was forced to come to the US when they are kid does that still make them an Illegal Immigrant. Should those kids still be labeled as an illegal immigrant, even though they most likely had no choice in coming here to the US?

In the reader Focus on Social Problems there were many interesting readers, but the one that caught my eye was Learning to Be Illegal. After reading the short reader I learned and discovered many new things I was not aware of, for example, I did not know undocumented students were sometimes not allowed to pursue higher education. Prior to reading this, I thought everyone had access to public higher education, but there are some laws in some states that bar undocumented students from going to college or university. Personally, I feel that not having legal status should not bar potential students from going to college because having more college educated individuals in society will help the overall economy. Also, not allowing this population of people access to higher education does not make sense because these individuals have been here in America since a very young age, and most of them have attended K-12 in the American public school system. What I also found interesting was that many undocumented students do not have access to benefits that American citizens have like, Federal Student Aid, scholarships, and student loans. I feel sympathy for this individuals because they are not just barred from attending college, but if they do are allowed they have to pay out-of- state tuition with not grants or loans. The author