Roberto G. Gonzales

This article examines the transition to adulthood among 1.5-generation undocumented Latino young adults. For them, the transition to adulthood involves exiting the legally protected
status of K to 12 students and entering into adult roles that require legal status as the basis for participation. This collision among contexts makes for a turbulent transition and has profound implications for identity formation, friendship patterns, aspirations and expectations, and social and economic mobility. Undocumented children move from protected to unprotected,
from inclusion to exclusion, from de facto legal to illegal. In the process, they must learn to be illegal, a transformation that involves the almost complete retooling of daily routines, survival
skills, aspirations, and social patterns. These findings have important implications for studies of the 1.5- and second-generations and the specific and complex ways in which legal status intervenes in their coming of age. The article draws on 150 interviews with undocumented 1.5-generation young adult Latinos in Southern California.

Over the last few years, increasing scholarly and media attention has been paid to the plight of undocumented immigrant college students. However, only a small fraction of undocumented youth actually moves on from high school to postsecondary opportunities. Indeed, the exclusion from financial aid eligibility and low family socioeconomic status severely limit undocumented students' ability to matriculate to institutions of higher learning. But little is known about the ways in which school experiences shape postsecondary outcomes. This article focuses on the high school experiences of a sample of undocumented young adults and examines the ways in which school structures shape access to resources needed for postsecondary matriculation. In doing so, I argue that school-based networks are critical for success. However, these networks are fundamentally shaped by the school structure. This article draws from 78 in-depth life histories of undocumented Latino young adults in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. I incorporate a sample, stratified by educational experiences. The lived experiences of these young adults shed important light on the broader world in which they live and the ways in which immigration policies interact with school practices to shape success and failure.

Over the past few decades, undocumented settlement in the United States has grown to unprecedented numbers. Among the nearly 12 million undocumented immigrants, a substantial portion of undocumented youth is growing up with legal access to public education through high school but facing legal restrictions and economic barriers to higher education and the workforce. Every year, about 65,000 undocumented students graduate from high school nationwide. Like other children of immigrants, they plan to remain in the United States, but these young men and women have few means out of poverty. We provide a blueprint for assessing the future prospects of undocumented youth by offering a brief analysis of immigration and educational policies that currently affect the U.S. undocumented youth population and summarizing what is known about undocumented students' educational and occupational barriers and opportunities, particularly as they transition out of high school. We also discuss potential solutions to improve their circumstances and tap into their talents. Without broader means to obtain a postsecondary education and legally participate in adult life, these young men and women are a vulnerable population at risk for poverty and hardship. However, if given opportunities to pursue higher education and work legally in this country, these bilingual, bicultural students would benefit U.S. taxpayers and the economy overall.

Changes in immigration laws over the last three to four decades have given rise to unprecedented numbers of undocumented children. However, as others have argued, policies regarding the control of undocumented migration have had deleterious effects on undocumented children and their basic access to social rights. Undocumented youth in the United States can legally attend K-12 education, but cannot legally work, vote, receive financial aid, or drive in most states. Their situation calls for a reexamination of immigration laws and a recasting of the frame that has been used to promote their inclusion.

In the spring of 2006, cities across the United States witnessed unprecedented numbers of young people taking to the streets in protest. In the wake of the protests, social scientists, political pundits, and the media have tried to come up with possible
explanations for the massive participation. Meanwhile, with their backs to the wall, immigrant student groups have capitalized on the momentum and their own school experiences to organize in the community. This paper explores the educational and political processes that encourage civic engagement among these immigrant students. In doing so, it incorporates participant observation and in-depth semi-structured interviews over a period of a year and a half to provide a snapshot of the issues confronted by a group of Latino college and university students living in Orange County, California, who organized collectively to assist students, educate the community, and advocate for changes in legislation.

Nghi Van Nguyen is a 25-year-old Vietnamese man. He works full-time at Pizza Hut, and lives with his girlfriend and her 4-year-old son in San Diego. Without a high school diploma, Nghi is confined to a minimum-wage job with no benefits. He works six days a week, and is trying to get his life back on track. Nghi was recently released from prison, after serving three years of a six-year sentence for attempted burglary. With a prison record and an 11th grade education Nghi faces major obstacles. His life until now has been one of hardship and bad choices. After fleeing Vietnam in a boat crammed with refugees, Nghi’s family was resettled in San Diego upon arrival in the United States.
During those early years, times were tough for the family , which depended on public assistance through state-sponsored refugee programs. After a few years, Nghi’s dad landed a job at a large industrial company, making parts for airplanes; he also found
companionship and remarried. Although doing better materially, the family still did not act as a cohesive unit , and parent-child bonds frayed. Nghi blames his early troubles on his dad’s bad temper and his step mom’s chronic nagging...