Responsibly Covering Undocumented Students

Undocumented students in this country, just like any others, believe in the premise of higher education because it presents a pathway for upward social and economic mobility. But they face difficult, and sometimes much different, struggles than other students. Those challenges include language barriers, bias against immigrants and all the hostility that brings, and often limited guidance from teachers, counselors and coaches who are supposed to help them.

A panel at the Education Writers Association’s 77th National Seminar in Las Vegas helped unpack these issues for attendees during a session, “Undocumented Students: The Challenges of Getting to and Through College.”

They spoke about the need for a strong support system for undocumented students, such as  Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs at colleges. Additionally, they underscored the diversity within the larger undocumented population and explored the impact of government policies that make it extremely challenging for some undocumented immigrants to access higher education. Most importantly, they offered solutions to address the problems.

Participants included Hyein Lee, chief operating officer of TheDream.US, the largest college and career success program for dreamers; Marcela Rodrigues, an education reporter at The Dallas Morning News, and Daysi Diaz-Strong, assistant professor at University of Illinois Chicago, who has been doing research on undocumented students for 15 years. Sneha Dey, an education reporter for The Texas Tribune, moderated the panel.

Why Education Experiences Vary for Undocumented Students

Some of the numbers for undocumented immigrants in the U.S. look like this: There are 10 to 11 million undocumented people in the country. Nearly 100,000 undocumented students graduate from high school annually, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Because they are undocumented, they cannot get federal financial aid for college. In the past, some were able to take advantage of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, but it is no longer processing first-time applications due to legal challenges. 

The legal status and experiences of undocumented students vary based on their age of arrival in the U.S. Diaz-Strong talked about her personal experience of coming to this country as an undocumented 8-year-old. She had time to acclimate to the culture and learn the language as opposed to older students who come and have a shorter timeline to prepare for higher education.Older undocumented students also face other challenges. 

“They’re sort of segregated in ESL classes, and along with ESL classes are these lower-level course placements, and so they’re not able to build their academics,” Diaz-Strong said of students who come later. These low-level classes make students less competitive for scholarships, which they need, compared to students taking Advanced Placement courses

“They don’t have access to the same resources [such as AP courses] as some of the other young people will have, from teachers to peers,” Diaz-Strong explained. 

From the start of the college application process, these students don’t have resources available to them, and because of their lower GPAs [compared to students in AP classes], they don’t qualify for more, Diaz-Strong said.. 

Lee seconded the lack of financial aid available to undocumented students, explaining that her group has provided 10,000 scholarships to students in 21 states over the past 10 years, but that so much more is needed.

Lessons From a Reporter Who Covered Undocumented Students 

Rodrigues shared her experiences reporting on undocumented students, and she underscored the importance that support staff from the high school level can have for undocumented students.

“There’s often a teacher or counselor or sports coach who is instrumental in either helping students make it to college or kind of destroying their dreams,” Rodrigues said. 

She interviewed students who reported receiving research help when looking for money for college or when seeking colleges. Some states don’t allow undocumented students to attend public universities, which are cheaper than private colleges. 

Rodrigues listed Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia as examples of states that have restrictive policies on who can enroll in universities, even if they get accepted. 

Another misconception, and something that colleges have not caught up to, is that people believe undocumented students today are automatically enrolled in DACA, which started in June 2012. DACA created permanent resident status for young undocumented people, provided them with protections from deportation and allowed them better opportunities for higher education. As the program’s future remains uncertain, the Biden administration announced new protections for immigrants on the 12th anniversary of DACA this year. 

“Colleges often have policies tailored to people who have DACA; meanwhile kids graduating now don’t have that,” she offered.

That makes applying to certain places harder and more expensive. Also, colleges and universities are cutting scholarship programs for undocumented students due to attacks on DEI. Rodrigues covered the elimination of a scholarship program at The University of Texas at Austin, because of this issue. 

DEI programs also offered a gathering place for undocumented students to meet friends and learn about resources for school, but now students are losing  support staff who helped them navigate problems.

Underscoring the Diversity of Immigrant Students

Panelists also discussed the misconception that only Latinos are immigrants.

“I think why diversity is so important for this group is just because I think most folks aren’t aware of how vast this population is and how embedded they are in the social fabric of this country,” Lee said.

For example, Lee said TheDream.US has served students from 120 countries around the world. In New York, where she is based, some 60% of the students have come from Latin American countries, but many have also come from countries in Asia and Africa.

Lee said that her organization has a diverse array of scholarships available, which aren’t specific to a specific ethnicity of any immigrant.

 This is an incredibly, incredibly ethnically and racially diverse population. We have a very unique narrative to share,” Lee said.

Reporting Tips

Ethically Reporting on Immigrant and Undocumented Students

Panelists gave education writers tips to report responsibly on immigrant students:

• Protect immigrant students’ identities in stories or with discretion in photography.
• Build relationships. Don’t only talk to a sensitive community whenever there is a need for a comment.
• Allow undocumented students to control their narrative about their stories.
• Be up front about the angle for any article reporters are writing.
• Avoid surprising and traumatizing undocumented students. Don’t pull sensational comments, particularly if students don’t understand a larger issue.

An Immigration Status Rundown 

Undocumented students are navigating varying degrees of undocumented status in this country,, and they leave their home countries for different reasons:

• They can have temporary protected status and be clear of deportation because they fled their country due to extenuating circumstances. 
• They can have special immigrant juvenile status and have fled domestic violence.
• They may hold U visas, which protects immigrants from abuse and retribution.

Story Ideas: Covering Undocumented Students

• Illustrate how undocumented students contribute to the U.S.: Panelists said that universities in this country need to do a better job of collecting data on undocumented students; it would show that undocumented students are contributing to the world.
  
  Even the media misses how undocumented people contribute to this society, the panelists said.
• Examine the impact of undocumented students: Reporters should examine how undocumented students work, build businesses and employ people, or sometimes take the skills they learned – after earning  degrees in the U.S. – back to their original countries.