Purged: Undocumented Students, Financial Aid Policies, and Access to Higher Education

Abstract

This article examines how the denial of financial aid constrains undocumented students from pursuing higher education and discusses the interlocking relationship between federal immigration and higher education policies. Reporting on research data identifying that undocumented students pay for their education through work, family contributions, few scholarships, and strategies such as working more and taking fewer classes, this article also links the stress placed on undocumented students and their families to Latino retention and graduation rates.