Toward a Nuanced and Contextualized Understanding of Undocumented College Students: Lessons from a California Survey
Published by Laura E. Enriquez, Karina Chavarria, Victoria E. Rodriguez, Cecilia Ayón, Basia Ellis, Melissa J. Hagan, Julián Jefferies, Jannet Lara, Martha Morales Hernandez, Enrique Murillo Jr., Jennifer Nájera, Carly Offidani-Bertrand, Maria Oropeza Fujimoto, Annie Ro, William Rosales, Heidy Sarabia, Ana K. Soltero López, Mercedes Valadez, Zulema Valdez, and Sharon Velarde Pierce in the Journal of Latinos and Education
Drawing on descriptive analyses, Enriquez and colleagues examine how undocumented students are faring in California’s relatively inclusive policy context. Results demonstrate the heterogeneity of undocumented student experiences and unpack the challenges they confront while also demonstrating the ways they thrive. They document how respondents are performing across a variety of academic, well-being, and civic and political engagement outcomes. Civic and political engagement outcomes include organizational participation, holding a leadership position, volunteering, and several forms of political engagement.
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Politically Excluded, Undocu-Engaged: The Perceived Effect of Hostile Immigration Policies on Undocumented Student Political Engagement
Published by William E. Rosales, Laura E. Enriquez, and Jennifer R. Nájera in the Journal of Latinos and Education
Rosales and colleagues examine how perceptions of the immigration policy context may help or hinder three forms of undocumented college students’ political engagement: political voice, collective action, and individual action. Results show that perceived discrimination and threat to family due are positively associated with all forms of political engagement, while social exclusion is negatively associated. Campus and community engagement weakly moderate these relationships. Comparisons across immigration status suggest that many of these relationships are unique to students who have legal protections like DACA.
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A Latent Profile Analysis of U.S. Undocumented College Students’ Advocacy Communication Strategies and its Relationship with Health
Published by Monica Cornejo, Cecilia Ayón, and Laura E. Enriquez in the Journal of Applied Communication Research
Cornejo and colleagues examine the heterogeneity of undocumented college students’ advocacy communication by identifying profiles of undocumented college students based on their participation in various advocacy communication strategies and assessing how these advocacy profiles are associated with health (i.e. anxiety, depression, and self-rated health). Results identify four subgroups based on undocumented students’ patterns of participation in six types of advocacy communication strategies. Importantly, frequent advocators report poor health outcomes compared to the other profiles.
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Examining the Relationship Between Acts of Resistance and Depression among Undocumented College Students
Published by Martha Morales Hernandez, Josefina Flores Morales, and Laura E. Enriquez in Society & Mental Health
Morales Hernandez and colleagues examine to what extent engaging in three acts of resistance is associated with depression and anxiety symptomatology. They find that students with higher rates of political engagement and critical consciousness raising report higher depression and anxiety symptomatology. Findings suggest that structural approaches to studying mental health must also consider immigrants’ agency and efforts to navigate, respond to, and challenge their marginalization.
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Anxious Activists? Examining Immigration Policy Threat, Political Engagement, and Anxiety among College Students with Different Self/Parental Immigration Statuses
Published by Erin Manolo-Pedro, Laura E. Enriquez, Jennifer Nájera, and Annie Ro in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior
Manolo-Pedro and colleagues examine whether anxiety symptomatology was associated with perceived threat to family and if political engagement moderated this relationship. They stratified analyses by self/parental immigration statuses—undocumented students, U.S. citizens with undocumented parents, and U.S. citizens with lawfully present parents—to examine family members’ legal vulnerability. Findings suggest that threat to family was significantly associated with anxiety; higher levels of political engagement reduced the strength of this relationship. However, this moderation effect was only significant for U.S. citizens with lawfully present parents.