Immigration: Undocumented Students in Higher Education

(7/1/2010 - Spring 2013)

Fairfield University, Santa Clara University and Loyola University Chicago partnered and received a grant from the Ford Foundation to explore experiences of undocumented students at Jesuit universities. The project sought to better understand challenges and obstacles faced by undocumented students and ways of eliminating those barriers. The project had several short-term and long-term goals.

Short-term Goals:

1. To provide presidential leadership in higher education regarding undocumented students;

2. To initiate and sustain dialogue among the 28 North American Jesuit Colleges and Universities around the topic of undocumented students;

3. To design and implement a mixed-methods research study to understand the legal contexts, attitudes, and current practices, issues and challenges for AJCU institutions in serving students who are undocumented;

4. To develop and disseminate a white paper that provides moral and practical arguments for serving a more inclusive higher education system which serves students who are undocumented.

 Long-term Goals:

1. Explore the creation of a common fund to support financial aid for undocumented students;

2. Catalog and collect resources and information related to undocumented students and U.S. higher education.

 Links:

• Resources available for Undocumented Students at Loyola University Chicago

Media:

• The Chronicle of Higher Education

• Inside Higher Ed

Reports:

• AJCU Presidents' Statement

• Executive Summary

• Final Report

• Jesuit Higher Education: Lift Every Voice: Institutional Climate and the Experiences of Undocumented Students at Jesuit Universities

Research Team:

• P. Nyden, CURL

• M. Guzman, CURL

• R. Kakuyama, Graduate Fellow

• K. Surla, Undergraduate Fellow

• V. Anguiano, Undergraduate Fellow

Community Partners:

• Fairfield University

• Santa Clara University