Chapter 5: Dropping in, not out: Educational Aspirations and Experiences of Latino Immigrant Youth in New York City

More than 20% of U.S. youth are first-generation immigrants or children of immigrants, a number expected to exceed 30% by the year 2030 (Smith, 2006; Suarez-Orozco, Suarez-Orozco & Torodova, 2008). The dropout rate for immigrant Latinos is three times higher than that for native-born Latinos (34.6% vs. 10.1%) (U.S. Department of Education, 2009). Among immigrants classified as dropouts are increasing numbers of young men and women from Latin America who arrive in the U.S. in their midteens to early 20s with incomplete secondary schooling. Some remain indefinitely in low-wage jobs, while others return willingly to their countries of origin or are deported, and still others attempt to educate themselves through non-high school second chance mechanisms in the United States.