Identifying Undocumented Students without Causing Fear: Disclosure and the Contradictions Created By Legal Violence during the Transition to College

Background and Purpose:

Undocumented students have a constitutionally protected right to a K-12 education. Lacking legal status, however, profoundly complicates their transition to college. The fear of deportation often leads undocumented students to remain silent about their status as a tactic of protection for themselves and their families. However, school staff need to identify undocumented students to provide necessary support. This paper examines the difficulties confronted by school staff when attempting to identify undocumented high school students to provide them with resources and information about college.

Methods:

The study draws on 50 semi-structured interviews conducted in the Chicagoland area with high school counselors, social workers, teachers, and other staff who advise undocumented high school students. Participants were recruited through personal and professional networks, via social media, and through a snowball approach. The interview covered six areas: interactions with undocumented students, learning about their challenges, identifying financial aid resources, challenges in supporting them, and awareness of policies affecting this population. Professionally transcribed interviews were analyzed thematically in ATLAS.ti. The codes attended to pre-determined areas of interest while remaining open to emerging insights. Analytic memos were used throughout to document the data collection, coding, and analysis process.

Results:

The experiences of school staff reveal that legal violence pervades undocumented students’ transition to college. The concept of legal violence, created by Cecilia Menjίvar, highlights the “far-reaching consequences” of exclusionary immigration laws. During the transition to college, legal violence creates a contradiction between the need for silence and the need to access resources. Exclusionary immigration laws impose fear and barriers to trust. Accordingly, school staff’s work to support undocumented students occurs under a climate of mistrust. Under a climate of mistrust, school staff struggle to provide information without causing discomfort and must navigate parental concerns about disclosure, often needing to engage the entire family. School staff highlighted the importance of students disclosing early in high school but noted that they were usually unsuccessful at obtaining disclosure before their junior and senior years of high school. Conversely, the emphasis on postsecondary planning during the junior and senior years created a critical juncture for disclosure—compelling and even forcing disclosure. The disclosure process was often imbued with fear and emotional distress. Legal violence not only prevents access to essential financial aid but renders the college information and resource-seeking process emotionally taxing.

Conclusion and Implications:

The study underscores the tension and contradictions brought about by exclusionary immigration laws during the college transition process. It highlights the protective strategy of silence employed by undocumented students and their families, which, paradoxically, hinders access to crucial information and resources. The findings suggest a need for enhanced support and training for high school staff to navigate this critical juncture more effectively and address the socio-emotional impacts of legal violence. The study also emphasizes the limitations of working within current immigration laws and the necessity of addressing the broader systemic issues at play.