Many issues have presented themselves to the state of our educational system from race, gender, miss classification that have had a spotlight placed upon them, but one,, the undocumented student has existed quietly, slowly gaining a public voice. There has been resistance to accepting this population, providing it with the necessary legal status and resources to integrate into our society as productive members who raise value by their presence not burden others because of need.
Aside from legal risks such undocumented individuals have been restricted from federal monies to fund education. A noteworthy attempt to address the plight of the undocumented was the Student Adjustment Act which was introduced in congress in 2001 by Congressman Chris Cannon (Romero). More recently DACA was enacted to provide students some protections to enable students’ pursuit of education (Singer & Svajlenka). The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM act) has expanded support in this area as well. Introduced by Senator Orrin Hatch in 2001 high school graduates or those having received their GED who are undocumented would be eligible to gain conditional lawful permanent residence status if they meet certain criteria. Attending two years of college toward a bachelor’s degree is one of the criteria for acceptance.
Undocumented students cannot receive federal funds to assist in educational expenses, but schools are not prevented from accepting them as students. There is a growing number of schools which are becoming more visible in supporting this population, developing resources outside the restrictions placed by the federal government.
Undocumented Students 