Immigration, Jesuit Higher Education, and the Undocumented

This chapter traces the history of migration to the United States starting in the 1500s, and discusses the role of religious institutions, including Jesuit colleges starting in the early 1800s, in providing for the needs of recent immigrants. Throughout American history, immigrants have arrived in “waves,” leaving their homelands and undertaking the arduous journey to the promised land. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the journey involved a long voyage across the oceans in frail wooden ships, navigated by the sun and stars. Today the voyage may be by foot through the Americas or on a crowded jet airplane, but the challenge remains: to venture and then adjust to a new life in a new world. At Jesuit campuses, the undocumented immigrants follow in the footsteps of generations of immigrants and their children from various European countries. These new immigrants believe that a Jesuit education is the key to achieving their American dream and the dreams of their parents.

Introduction

This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of the importance of education for the Society of Jesus. Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, intended Jesuit education to be free and open to all social classes and saw it as an important contribution to the “common good” of society. Before long, the Jesuits created a worldwide network of colleges and universities anchored in a humanistic education and a common concern for the moral development of students. The chapter then describes the Immigrant Students National Position Paper, a study of the situation of undocumented students at the twenty-eight Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States and the institutional practices that affect those students. This book on undocumented students at Jesuit institutions of higher education in the United States expands upon the work of the Immigration Student National Position Paper.

Conclusion

This concluding chapter addresses some of the questions that were raised throughout the project, and discusses the implications of the research findings for future undocumented students, higher education institutions, and U.S. policy. The overarching conclusions that the authors drew from listening to students are that students struggle primarily with emotional stress related to their undocumented status, fear that they or their family members will be deported, the financial burden of attending college, and uncertainty regarding their futures. These forms of stress distinguish their college experiences from those of their peers who, despite having their own concerns, are more likely to have access to resources such as financial aid, medical insurance, or other basic privileges such as driving legally or having access to government-issued forms of identification.

From Research to Action

This chapter explores institutional responses to undocumented undergraduate students from the perspective of staff. Data from 110 key staff members (employed in admissions, financial aid, student services, campus ministry, and so on) from across all twenty-eight institutions were collected through an online survey, were analyzed, and presented in this chapter. The first section highlights the results of the survey and interviews conducted with staff at Jesuit colleges and universities. The second section presents a five-part case study of Loyola University Chicago initiatives. These initiatives were informed by the engagement of Loyola University Chicago in the research partnership, the results of which are presented, and the dissemination of the Ford-funded report composed in collaboration with Fairfield University and Santa Clara University.

Getting, Staying, and Being in College

This chapter presents the experiences of undergraduate students at Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States based on interviews with twenty-five enrolled students at six of the twenty-eight private, nonprofit Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States who were undocumented at the time of the interview. The students' experiences provide insight into the experiences of hard-working students pursuing uncertain futures and encountering career-limiting laws under the constant fear of deportation. The chapter starts with a discussion of students' experiences coming to the United States followed by a focus on college: getting in, challenges to staying in college, what it is like to be in college while undocumented, to thoughts about moving on after graduation. It ends with suggestions for colleges from students themselves.

Alma Mater, Mater Exulum. Jesuit Education and Immigration in America

This chapter explores both the history and commitment surrounding 225 years of Jesuit higher education in the United States to provide the so-called moral framework of this study. It examines the history of the Society of Jesus in the United States in terms of its relationship to immigrant populations, and discusses contemporary themes which make such a continued commitment to the often excluded and underappreciated population of migrant students viable and fruitful today. It argues that that Jesuit higher education shares a mission and commitment across generations to provide access to education; and in the U.S. context, especially to help immigrant families have an opportunity to earn their share of the American dream.

Becoming Allies in Eradicating Long-Standing Legal Barriers

This chapter provides a streamlined account of the laws and policies most relevant to undocumented students in higher education. It begins by first contextualizing the legal discussion on educational institutions within a social justice framework, before describing the legal landscape of the education of undocumented students from K–16 (Kindergarten through College). It explores two specific legal policies that have greatly affected how undocumented students experience higher education: the 1996 Omnibus Immigration Laws and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). It then considers future trends of the legal landscape. It proposes that universities have a role to play in paving a just and compassionate path to undocumented students' access and success in higher education, with or without comprehensive immigration reform. The chapter concludes by posing a challenge to universities—how do your (in)actions on this issue define the ideals of a democratic society and an educational institution committed to social justice?

Theoretical and Conceptual Considerations for the Study of Undocumented College Students

This chapter reviews the major theoretical approaches to international migration and considers their use as a tool to explain the dynamics surrounding the migration processes, meanings of citizenship, race/ethnicity, racism, stigmatization, and other challenges that undocumented youth encounter in interacting with institutions, particularly in their pursuit of a tertiary-level education. It argues that undocumented students—or undocumented youth more generally—may not necessarily fit the parameters that these models of international migration suggest, given that most of them arrived as children when the decision was not theirs. However, these models serve as explanatory tools to improve the understanding of the circumstances that motivate parents to migrate with children but without the legal status that would afford them the opportunity to live full, free lives without fear of deportation and with access to education, employment, and other basic privileges such as driving and travelling.