\u201cI [didn\u2019t] want that for my daughter,\u201d Roberto said in Spanish. \u201cFor me, I want my kids to fly. That\u2019s what parents are supposed to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two landed in Fresno as undocumented immigrants. Roberto got a job working in industrial maintenance for a meat production company while Dayana enrolled as a junior at McLane High School.<\/p>\n
With her newcomer status<\/a> and lack of English language skills<\/a>, Dayana worked diligently to catch up with her peers. She was placed in English Language Development (ELD) classes and basic math and science courses. She says she felt an overwhelming sense of support from her classmates and teachers. Dayana became highly involved at her schools through clubs and volunteering. She was even named valedictorian when she graduated earlier this year.<\/p>\n Thinking about college during her senior year, Dayana had applied to major universities in California \u2013 UC Berkeley, CSU Long Beach, UC Merced, Fresno State and UC Davis. She was accepted by most of them. She started dreaming about moving away from Fresno and living the college life in a new city.\u00a0<\/p>\n But Dayana quickly realized what that would mean \u2013 and what financial and mental health struggles would come along with being on her own, especially as she and her father started the process of seeking legal documentation.<\/p>\n Not long after, federal immigration raids started in Los Angeles<\/a> and other parts of the state.<\/p>\n Esther Quintanilla \/ CVJC<\/p>\n Dayana\u2019s graduation cap reads \u201cFor my parents, who came with nothing and gave me everything.\u201d <\/p>\n Students with immigrant backgrounds, like Dayana, across California and the country are now grappling with how to continue pursuing their academic dreams as immigration issues become more prevalent.<\/p>\n \u201cI had to consider what was happening in the news about ICE, that the president was going to start making these changes that were going to negatively impact immigrants,\u201d she said. \u201cI had to ask myself, \u2018why would I move to such a big city if something could happen to me?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The stress of leaving family behind<\/p>\n For those students from immigrant families who do decide to leave home, the fear remains constant. Her family migrated to Fresno from Mexico in the early 2000s. Montse is the only person in her family who has U.S. citizenship \u2013 both her parents and an older, disabled sibling are undocumented. \u201cI started thinking about what would happen to my family if they were stopped by agents,\u201d she said. \u201cMy parents don\u2019t speak a lot of English and my sister has a lot of needs.\u201d<\/p>\n Montse asked her friends, teachers and mentors for advice and made her choice.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought to myself, \u2018this might be my only chance to go,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cI decided that the benefits outweighed the risk.\u201d<\/p>\n Montse said that as she started her first semester, she felt at ease going to her classes and making friends and finding community through Latinx clubs. But she also feels close to home because she drives from Berkeley to Fresno every weekend to help her parents around the house and volunteer in her community.<\/p>\n She said a lot of the students she\u2019s met so far share similar fears for their families. Those fears only intensified after the Supreme Court ruled federal agents could stop people in Los Angeles for speaking Spanish or appearing Latino<\/a> amid immigration crackdowns in the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n Such concerns partially inspired her to pursue a double major in Law and Ethnic Studies \u2013 so she can become an immigration attorney in the future. \u201cI can\u2019t let my fears take over,\u201d Montse said. \u201cI\u2019m going to try my best to stay focused and be the first in my family to graduate college.\u201d<\/p>\n Organizers seeing patterns in young people<\/p>\n In 2024, first-generation, second-generation and undocumented students made up nearly a third<\/a> of the 19 million students enrolled in higher education institutions in the U.S., according to the Higher Ed Immigration Portal. In California, nearly a fifth of students in higher education fall under that umbrella.\u00a0<\/p>\n First-generation college students \u2013 or students who are the first in their family to attend university \u2013 already face significant challenges<\/a> with financial hardships, mental health concerns, and biases related to their first-generation status. Undocumented students are also ineligible to\u00a0 receive federal financial aid<\/a>. As a result, many rely on state aid, institutional aid, or private scholarships to afford classes.\u00a0<\/p>\n The added stress of immigration enforcement<\/a> for themselves, their family members, and community impacts those students at every grade level. And while California law prohibits<\/a> immigration enforcement agents from entering public K-12 schools, the same protections aren\u2019t promised<\/a> on college campuses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u201cThere were teachers who understood me,\u201d she said in Spanish. \u201cI had barely arrived in the country. Everything was completely new to me. From the cafeteria to the classes, everything was totally different from what education was like back in Per\u00fa.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u00a0
Edison graduate Montse, who declined to share her last name for safety concerns, explained how that decision was difficult to make.<\/p>\n
\u00a0
Montse was surprised when she received early admission to UC Berkeley. At first, she was excited to be chosen to attend the highly prestigious school. But her excitement dwindled when she realized what moving to Berkeley would mean \u2013 leaving her family behind.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Her family\u2019s safety and immigration concerns will always be on her mind, Montse said. But while she\u2019s in school, she won\u2019t let it hold her back.<\/p>\n