This paper examines state policies that extend or deny in-state tuition to
children of undocumented immigrants in the United States. Using the Current
Population Survey (1997–2010), we assess changes in college enrollment among
Mexican-born non-citizens — a proxy for the undocumented population. In contrast
to previous analyses, we find that policies extending in-state tuition to
undocumented youth do not directly affect rates of college enrollment. However,
we find that Mexican-born non-citizen youth residing in states that deny
in-state tuition have a 12.1 percentage point lower probability of being
enrolled in college than their peers living in states with no such policies.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AbregoL. J., and
GonzalesR. G.2010“Blocked Paths, Uncertain Futures: The Postsecondary Education
and Labor Market Prospects of Undocumented Latino Youth.”Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk15: 144–57.
2.
Amuedo-DorantesC., and BansakC.2012“The Labor Market Impact of Mandated Employment Verification
Systems.”American Economic Review102(3):
543–48.
3.
Amuedo-DorantesC., and BansakC.2014“Employment Verification Mandates and the Labor Market Outcomes
of Likely Unauthorized and Native Workers.”Contemporary Economic Policy, online,
1–10.
4.
BozickR.2008“College Enrollment.” In Encyclopedia of
the Life Course and Human Development, edited by
CrosnoeR.HughesM. E., and PientaA.Farmington Hill: Gale
Publishing.
5.
BraunsteinA.McGrathM., and
PescatriceD.1999“Measuring the Impact of Income and Financial Aid Offers on
College Enrollment Decisions.”Research in Higher Education40(3):
247–59.
6.
Center for Policy
Entrepreneurship2008Tuition Equity Legislation: Investing in Colorado High School Graduates
Through Equal Opportunity to Postsecondary Education (Prepared for the
Higher Education Access Alliance).Denver, CO: Keaton,
E.A.
7.
Cheeseman-DayJ., and NewburgerE. C.2002The Big Payoff: Educational Attainment and Synthetic Estimates of
Work–Life Earnings.Washington, DC: United States
Census Bureau.
8.
FilindraA.BlandingD., and CollC. G.2011“The Power of Context: State-Level Policies and Politics and the
Educational Performance of the Children of Immigrants in the United
States.”Harvard Educational Review81(3):
407–37.
9.
FloresS. M.2010“State ‘dream acts’: The Effect of In-State Resident Tuition
Policies on the College Enrollment of Undocumented Latino Students in the
United States.”The Review of Higher Education33(2):
239–83.
10.
GonzalezR. G., and ChavezL. R.2012“‘Awakening to a nightmare’: Abjectivity and Illegality in the
Lives of Undocumented 1.5 Generation Latino Immigrants in the United
States.”Current Anthropology53(3):
255–81.
11.
GrynT. A., and LarsenL. J.2010Nativity and Citizenship in the United States: 2009. United States
Census Bureau, American Community Survey Briefs, 09–16.
Washington, DC: United States
Government Printing Office.
12.
HoeferM.RytinaN., and BakerB. C.2010Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing the in the
United States: January 2010.Washington, DC: Office of
Immigration Statistics, Policy Directorate, US Department of Homeland
Security.
13.
KaushalN.2008“In-State Tuition for the Undocumented: Education Effects on
Mexican Young Adults.”Journal of Policy Analysis and Management27(4):
771–92.
14.
KellerU., and TillmanK. H.2008“Postsecondary Educational Attainment of Immigrant and Native
Youth.”Social Forces87(1):
121–52.
15.
LeerkesA.BachmeierJ. D., and LeachM. A.2013“When the Border is ‘everywhere’: State-Level Variation in
Migration Control and Changing Settlement Patterns of the Unauthorized
Immigrant Population in the United States.”International Migration Review47: 910–43.
16.
LeerkesA.BachmeierJ. D., and LeachM. A.LeachM. A., and
BachmeierJ. D.2012“Borders Behind the Border: An Exploration of State-Level
Differences in Migration Control and Their Effects on United States
Migration Patterns.”Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies38: 111–29.
17.
Library of Congress2010“Education Benefits for Undocumented Immigrants: Overview of
Relevant Court Decisions.”Congressional Digest89(9):
263–88.
18.
OropesaR. S., and
LandaleN. S.2009“Why Do Immigrant Youth Who Never Enroll in United States Schools
Matter? An Examination of School Enrollment Among Mexicans and Non-Hispanic
Whites.”Sociology of Education82(3):
240–66.
19.
PasselJ. S., and CohnD.2011Unauthorized Immigrant Population: National and State Trends,
2010.Washington, DC: Pew Hispanic
Center.
20.
RussellA.2011State Policies Regarding Undocumented College Students: A Narrative of
Unresolved Issues, Ongoing Debate and Missed Opportunities.Washington, DC: American
Association of State College and
Universities.
21.
TerrazasA.2011Immigrants in New Destination States.Washington, DC: Migration Policy
Institute.
22.
WarrenR., and WarrenJ. R.2013“Unauthorized Immigration to the United States: Annual Estimates
and Components of Change, by State, 1990 to 2010.”International Migration Review47(2):
296–329.
