Chapter 10: College and Career Counseling and Access for Students Who are Undocumented

Education is the gateway to the American Dream. But today our immigration laws make higher education—a virtual requirement for financial security—out of reach for more than one million undocumented students.

—Wendy Kopp

One out of three students enrolled in higher education in the United States identified as an immigrant (Batalova & Feldblum, 2020). Of those immigrant students, 427,345 students identified as an undocumented citizen (Presidents’ Alliance, 2022). In the United States, undocumented citizen is a term used to broadly define all immigrants who reside in the United States without legal status or documentation (Immigrants Rising, 2020). Although difficult to accurately account for, it is estimated that 1.09 million undocumented children and youth currently live in the United States. Students who are undocumented face unique challenges and needs when considering success after high school (American School Counselors Association [ASCA], 2019). Post-secondary education and success can seem unattainable to these students due to regulations and laws set by governing agencies (National Association of Secondary School Principals [NASSP], 2019).