With the 1982 Supreme Court decision in the case of Plyler v. Doe, K-12 students, regardless of their immigration status, were able to access a free public school education without the threat of deportation. However, such clarity has not been the case for undocumented students pursuing higher education. As increasing numbers of undocumented…

Scholarship on the intersection between immigration, legal status, and education has grown over the past decade. Given that schools are intended to be purveyors of democratic values, schools represent an ideal context to examine how immigration and legal status are considered in a community that aims to support the academic and social success of…

A growing body of interdisciplinary research examines the dynamics of, policies concerning, and implications of large-scale contemporary displacement in the United States. Yet less of this research explores the intersections of policies concerned with and normative understandings of displacement as both relate to U.S. schooling. This article…

Undocumented student immigrants in the United States face substantial challenges in higher education including systemic, institutional, and cultural barriers that often impede access to and success in higher education. These barriers directly influence academic and work opportunities. The purpose of this article is to discuss the myriad of factors…

This case study takes place in a Midwestern, politically conservative rural community shortly after a highly contested presidential election. Like other communities, Paisano has experienced demographic change in a relatively short time. Meat processing plants and construction jobs proliferate, attracting migrant workers. One day, secondary school…

When the Texas state legislature passed a law in the 1970s allowing school districts to deny enrollment or charge tuition to illegal immigrant children, the Tyler Independent School District instituted a $1,000 tuition rate for illegal immigrant children. Sixteen undocumented children from four Mexican families in Tyler filed a class-action suit…

Under Federal law, State and local educational agencies (hereinafter "districts") are required to provide all children with equal access to public education at the elementary and secondary level. Thie Dear Colleague letter was written to remind school districts of the Federal obligation to provide equal educational opportunities to all…

This digest discusses public schooling for undocumented immigrant children--children born outside the United States who live here without permission of the federal government. Most are children of agricultural workers. Whatever their circumstances, undocumented immigrant children are entitled to attend school. Anti-immigrant fears are stoked by…