From lost to leading: How undocumented student resource centers are transforming student lives

Abstract

In response to a growing awareness of undocumented students’ experiences and the challenges they face, many colleges in the United States are developing supports and resources for undocumented students, and a growing number are establishing Undocumented Student Resource Centers (USRCs)—i.e., supportive offices on campus dedicated to the success of these students (Cisneros & Valdivia, 2020). However, no studies to date have explored the psychosocial impacts of USRCs on the lives of undocumented students. In this paper, we examine the psychosocial impact of USRCs on undocumented students through qualitative interviews with USRC coordinators and students who accessed USRC services and programs in California. Our study utilizes the cycles of deportability framework to theorize undocumented students’ experiences as dynamic psychosocial processes, and to explore what happens to these cycles when students encounter the supportive culture of the USRC and begin to experience its practical and psychological supports. Our results demonstrate how Undocumented Student Resource Centers can transform the lives and trajectories of undocumented students not only by providing resources that help them overcome status-related barriers, but by equipping them with the creative agency, psychological strength, and social support needed to pursue their goals despite their status-related limitation.