AB 540 Student Teach-In: Undocumented Students and Their Struggle to Achieve Higher Education

Members of the Stanford community and community practitioners and advocates are invited to attend this teach-in to learn of the long struggles faced by education advocates and immigrant students to increase access for undocumented students to public colleges and universities nationwide. By providing participants with context and various presentations, we hope to open dialogue about how students and community members can get involved in the struggle to create political change.

A substantial population of undocumented youth in the United States grow up with legal access to public education through high school, but face legal and economic barriers to higher education. An estimated 80,000 undocumented youth have lived in the U.S. for five or more years by the age of 18, but only 65,000 graduate from high school each year. Research suggests that undocumented students experience shame, anxiety, and fear due to the social stigma and real dangers associated with their status. They also experience invisibility and increased financial constraints in accessing college because they are ineligible to apply for financial aid or student loans...Learn more