Uninterrupted Higher Education: An Ecosystem Approach to Supporting Students with Precarious Immigration Statuses

This project examines how shifting federal policies disrupt the educational pathways of undocumented and international college students. Using evidence-based research and focus groups, it identifies institutional policies and practices to mitigate these disruptions and develops a national engagement plan with tools and guidance for colleges to respond effectively to immigration-related challenges affecting students with precarious …

Justice Deferred: Higher Education Institutional Agents’ Sensemaking in the Wake of Affirmative Action’s Demise

This project investigates how Higher Education Institutional Agents (HEIAs)—college and university administrators such as presidents, vice presidents, admissions officers, and multicultural affairs staff—are making sense of and responding to this rapidly shifting legal and political landscape. HEIAs play a critical role in shaping equitable access and success for historically marginalized students, yet face mounting constraints …

Critical consciousness among undocumented immigrant college students: Responding to cultural stress and psychological distress

Cultural stress is experienced by undocumented students when they encounter discrimination in higher education and society. In response, undocumented students engage in critical consciousness, while simultaneously experiencing psychological distress. A conceptual model is introduced to describe the links between cultural stress, critical consciousness development, and psychological distress. Method: One hundred seventy-one undocumented college students were …

Immigrant students’ mental health and intent to persist in college: The role of undocufriendly campus climate

A plethora of challenges prevents immigrant students, particularly undocumented students, from succeeding in college at the same rate as U.S. citizens. This study drew on national data to operationalize a model based on the undocufriendly campus framework (Suárez-Orozco et al., 2015). A total of 501 immigrant students, including 114 with precarious immigration statuses, completed measures …

Humanizing policy implementation in higher education through an equity-centered approach

With an urgency to leverage existing and emerging policy reforms to improve student outcomes by centering educational equity, this manuscript explores the critical role of policy implementation in higher education – specifically in community colleges. In doing so, we explore historical and contemporary approaches to higher education, highlighting how policy implementation often serves as an …

UndocuCare: Strategies for mental health services that affirm undocumented college students’ psychological needs

There are an estimated 427,000 undocumented college students enrolled in higher education. Undocumented college students encounter unique challenges associated with their precarious immigration status that impacts their psychological well-being. In this article, we contextualize the mental health of undocumented college students and the role of college mental health services and professionals in supporting college students’ …

The influence of gender on women’s college-going behaviors in an urban school context

The purpose of this exploratory study is to examine how gender shapes women’s college-going behaviors in an urban district attempting to remedy racial and economic inequities in college access. Using case study methodology, we examined the experiences of 22 racially diverse women students and 18 institutional agents at three high schools—one magnet and two nonmagnet. …

Immigration status, mental health, and intent to persist among immigrant college students

This study examined the moderating role of immigration status on the relationship between anxiety and intent to persist among 469 immigrant college students. Additionally, we examined whether depression mediated the relationship between anxiety and intent to persist. Results showed that anxiety predicted increased intent to persist and increased anxiety predicted increased depression. However, depression did …