Undocumented Students &amp; Access to Higher Ed. Policy Spotlight on New England
Author: Patel, Pooja
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Undocumented Immigrants,Access to Education,College Students,Student Financial Aid,State Aid,State Legislation,Federal Legislation,Educational Legislation,State Policy

&quot;Part I: Are DACA Students Still Safe to Stay?&quot; was originally published in the &quot;New England Journal of Higher Education&quot; on April 25, 2017. Following unsuccessful attempts in Congress to provide a legal pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, including the DREAM Act of 2010, President Obama introduced an executive branch action. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was enacted in June 2012. However, the Trump administration has sent mixed signals about the future of the DACA program, engendering a purgatorial unease among recipients and their families. As of February 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was continuing to review DACA applications. Undocumented students are ineligible for federal financial aid programs such as the Pell Grant, work study, and government loans (Eusebio &amp; Mendoza, 2015), which creates a financial hurdle that is nearly impossible for many undocumented students and their families to overcome. States, however, do have the power to offer in-state tuition rates to undocumented students, as well as tuition grants and loans. As of March 2017, 20 states offered in-state tuition to undocumented students. Six of those 20 states offer state financial aid. For instance, in California, undocumented students are eligible for state and institutional aid, which include grants, need-based scholarships, loans, and work-study. In New England, only Connecticut and Rhode Island offer in-state tuition and no state in the region offers financial aid to undocumented students. &quot;Part II: A Chance at Life -- The Value of Legislative Action and Institutional Leadership for DACA Students&quot; was originally published in the &quot;New England Journal of Higher Education&quot; on June 28, 2017. Part II of this policy spotlight shares the story of a Massachusetts resident, Faustina, who is portrayed as the face of DACA. As an undocumented student, Faustina did not have a permanent residency card, which most colleges need in order to provide financial aid. Unwavering in her efforts to pursue a higher education, Faustina hoped to receive financial support from private institutions but, often, they could not meet her need. As a DACA beneficiary, Faustina was ineligible for federal financial aid and, in most cases, state financial aid. To better understand undocumented students' access to affordable higher education in the region, the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) conducted a survey of undergraduate institutions in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Out of 144 bachelor's-degree granting institutions in these three states, 50 institutions responded to the survey. The majority of the survey respondents were 4-year private, nonprofit institutions followed by 2-year public and 4-year public institutions, respectively. Of the institutions that responded, 72% reported admitting undocumented students in the 2015-2016 admission cycle.