“You Never Know When You Will See Him Again”: Understanding the Intersectional Dimensions of Immigration,Indigeneity,and Language for Unaccompanied Indigenous Minors

Abstract

This case explores the complex ways unaccompanied Latinx Indigenous minors experience the intersection of immigration policies and U.S. school policies and practices and the implications this has for school leaders. As such, we present three critical incidents that center three students’ experience with and through U.S. schooling—from enrollment, to navigating schooling linguistic support, and then finally the ways in which disciplinary policies heighten the consequences of immigration reform. Through the critical incidents, readers will meet Santiago, Manuel, and Cristian Indigenous unaccompanied minors and examine the ways in which school leaders and schooling practices shape and impact the schooling experiences of undocumented, unaccompanied, Latinx Indigenous students.