| Understanding the perplexities of undocumented Latino immigrant college students' lives, especially when they involve motivated youth who have lived in the United States nearly most of their lives, cannot be ignored. Many of these students experience multiple layers of social and psychological threat (e.g., social marginalization, discrimination, and stress) that can negatively impact their personal well-being. Currently, little is known about how undocumented Latino college students deal with anti-immigration sentiment and policies that directly prevent them from enjoying the same benefits and services as their American-born or legal resident peers. In recent years, there has been a large influx of undocumented students attending community colleges because of new state legislation that allow them to qualify to pay in-state residency if they have met specific criteria (Oliverez, 2006). However, undocumented students are still restricted from receiving federal and state financial aid in most states, which poses great financial and emotional hardships. Therefore, these conditions have created the need for a thorough understanding of the socioemotional and academic issues of undocumented Latino students (Dozier, 1993). In response to the scant research in this area, this dissertation investigated the specific socioemotional and academic experiences of undocumented Latino immigrant community college students. Specifically, this dissertation sought to determine how undocumented Latino students differ in the ways they cope with their socioemotional and academic challenges as a result of their legal status. In addition, this study examined how these students' socioemotional experiences and characteristics compare to those of their undocumented peers in relation to their academic and mental health outcomes. In order to help community college student services professionals better serve this historically marginalized population, the author performed a qualitative study with quantitative methodology and used a comprehensive secondary data source in order to obtain an in-depth account of the students' socioemotional and academic experiences. The data was extracted from the Perez 2006 Loss of Talent research study (Perez, Ramos, Coronado, & Cortes, 2006), which was conducted primarily at southern California post-secondary institutions. Of the 182 original participants, the socioemotional and academic experiences of 27 will be the main focus because these individuals were current community college students at the time of data collection. Results suggest that undocumented Latina/o college students are more likely to experience social rejection, distress, and anxiety. Yet, depression levels were moderately low in spite of the various socioemotional pressures. GPA was also used to group the participants. ANOVA tests showed no statistical difference between their socioemotional functioning, academic challenges, and legal status. Implementations on how the community college administration, faculty, and support staff may assist undocumented Latina/o community college students, and recommendations for future research and policy change were also delineated. |
