Challenges Undocumented College Students Face

The Challenges Undocumented Students Face
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Introduction
The undocumented students would refer to as the students that are illegally in the United States of America. These students could have come with their parent, guardians or caregivers or they might have arrived in the US on their own. They have no legal documents to support their stay in US. This therefore, makes them encounter many problems. Particularly in the educational systems, they face unique officially permitted constraints and uncertainties. The statistics show that most of the illegal immigrants are citizens of the US by birth and their number has continued to increase as from two million seven hundred thousand in the year 2003 to around four million in the year 2008 (Hinda, 2004).
It is not easy to determine the statistics of the undocumented students at a national level demographically. However, we can conjecture that the figures of the undocumented students nationally would relatively match those of the undocumented immigrants holistically. Additionally, around twenty percent of the unauthorized immigrants are below the age of eighteen years. Most of these undocumented students originate from Mexico, Latin America, Asia and Africa among others. Asia is the second largest country that sends undocumented students preceded by Mexico. When the University of California implemented the assembly bill allowing students graduating from California high schools recompense instate for their schooling, the number of the Asian unauthorized students went up forty-four percent of all the unauthorized students under the in-state tuition (Roberto, 2011). All the children living in the US have the right to elementary and secondary education despite their immigration status. However, the undocumented students face several challenges as they seek the education. For example, the admission and enrollment by institutions, tuition and the financial aid and higher education challenge. Many students have struggled to attain education in US because they do not have the documents of citizenship. This topic therefore, merits study in order to highlight the challenges with the undocumented students who are no lesser than the documented. Some of them are U.S. citizens by the virtue of birth. However, they do not enjoy their rights of education. In support of the topic are the review of several articles and the relevance of the study discussed in a similar setting.
Our aim thereof is to draw on the experience of the expertise to shed light upon the experiences of this often-neglected population of the undocumented students. In doing this we will look into policies and practices limiting the professional and the educational opportunities available to and for them (Roberto, 2011). We further discuss the difficulties they go through in their educational facilities and communities and how the challenges determine their reach to higher education. The research draws a conclusion by offering a set of recommendations on ways to maximize educational access by the undocumented students.
Many students have become aware of their undocumented situation when they have sought application for school programs, admission into colleges and universities and the employment. This contributes to many students giving up with education and others get motivated the more to fight harder for their rights despite the limitations in the country. The undocumented students, who were able to go through the high school education, have gone further to work hard in order than the documented students in order to achieve their goals in relation to education and profession (Roberto, 2011). However, after they attain titles such as the high school valedictorian, community advocates, and award winner among others, they still face the challenge of fully accessing most of the country’s educational institutions because of their immigration status and undocumented residency. This is despite the fact that they have completed the arduous application process. Because of their financial status, most of the undocumented students are unable to meet their most of their financial needs in college such as tuition, board and room among others. This therefore, raises the question how will the undocumented students pay for their college education.
In conjunction with the students’ ability to secure legal employment, even after they acquire a college degree, their families earning a low income increases pressure on them on considering whether attend college or not to attend at all. The families may tell them that after attending the US schools and they work hard to jump the necessary hurdles their dream career will follow. However, they face the harsh reality upon completing high school and they realize that that is not the case.
Undocumented students with the determination to pursue higher education in US opt for community college when the situations force them to turn down approval to four-year institutes because of the college costs. For example, in California, the community perceives the community college as the most accessible facility economically (Roberto, 2008). The estimates indicate that over thirty thousand students enrolled in community college in comparison to the less than five thousand who enrolled with the public universities.
The undocumented students demonstrate their perseverance in efforts to obtain funds to support their college education despite the restrictions in accessing government-sponsored federal and state financial support. In addition to the private scholarships applications, the students are engaged in various activities such as fund raising, work, and soliciting private donations in efforts to raise funds for their college education. The continued increase of the undocumented students in the US has called for the students to form students’ organizations. These organizations serve as the networks supporting the students in their efforts to go through the higher education and their attempts of fundraising, advocating for their rights as students, and increasing the access of the undocumented students to resources.
This student activism is of great significance to the undocumented students. There have been over thirty student support groups and many other statewide networks all in the support of the undocumented students. In order for the students’ organizations to realize and achieve their goals and to create awareness of the policies such as the AB 540 and to improve the students’ access to opportunities and resources available to them, they meet with chancellors, vice- chancellors, scholarship providers, community leaders, counselors, legislators and other student bodies. Furthermore, the organizations help the students in the institutions they attend by providing them with support systems as well as allowing them to come together to raise funds to cater for their expenses during the college education.
The undocumented students and their families face many fears and complications such as the issues of paying the ever-raising tuition fee, midterms and finals, attending lectures, extra-curricular activities as well as managing their family responsibilities. On the other hand, their documented ...