Fear and Stigma: How Undocumented Students Navigate Disclosure Amid Heightened Immigration Enforcement and Rising Anti-Immigrant Sentiment

Abstract

This article examines undocumented Latinx students’ decisions to disclose or conceal their immigration status with institutional agents and peers, as well as the benefits and risks embedded with these decisions. It is based on the perspectives and experiences of 25 immigrant students in San Diego County who identify as currently or formerly undocumented. Students described different forms and layers of disclosure that took into consideration enforcement practices on the ground, the uncertainty and protections surrounding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, the anti-immigrant climate under the Trump administration, and the nature of their relationships with peers and school personnel. Our analysis reveals that fear and stigma operate together in today’s landscape of immigration enforcement in ways that intimately shape students’ disclosure decisions. Our findings have important implications at a time when changes in U.S. immigration policy and enforcement practices are undermining the protections otherwise assumed for certain groups and communities.