32. Provide pathways to admissions and completion, regardless of the immigration status of students or their parents or guardians.[i]

Admissions 09.6.24

Here’s what the federal government can do:

  • Congress should ensure that school districts and federal, state, and local governments preserve and protect the rights of K-12 students established under Plyler v Doe.[ii]
  • Congress should pass permanent protections with a pathway to citizenship for immigrant youth, including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, DACA-eligible individuals, and undocumented youth who may not be eligible for DACA.
  • The U.S. Department of Education should investigate complaints of discrimination based on immigration status in college admissions.
  • The U.S. Department of Education should share best practices to provide pathways to higher education, regardless of immigration status with higher education institutions.
  • Congress should ensure federal student aid is accessible to students who meet residency requirements that aren’t tied to immigration status.

Here’s what state government can do:

  • State legislatures should ensure that higher education institutions use and disclose personal information about students’, parents’, and family members’ immigration statuses only for the purposes of administering educational or financial aid programs or assisting students.
  • Higher education coordinating agencies should ensure that higher education institutions are providing pathways to admission, regardless of immigration status or immigration status of parents and guardians.
  • State legislatures and higher education coordinating agencies should make determinations about in-state eligibility without regard to immigration status.

Here’s what institutional leaders can do:

  • Higher education institutions should ensure that students, their parents, and guardians have access to and an understanding of best practices in the admissions process, regardless of their immigration status or their primary language.
  • Higher education institutions should ensure that personal information about students’, parents’, and family members’ immigration status is used and disclosed only for the purpose of administering educational or financial aid programs, or otherwise assisting students.
  • Higher education institutions should establish protocols and measures to protect immigrant students on campus and refrain from disclosing personal information about students to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol.
  • Higher education institutions should provide free and confidential legal immigration support for students on campus.

Students should not be denied access to higher education at public or private institutions on the basis of their immigration status or that of their parents and guardians. This includes discrimination by states, boards of governors, state departments of education, public and private institutions, admissions officers, and other higher education officials who shape college admissions and in-state residency decisions. Approximately 98,000 undocumented students graduate from high schools in the United States every year.[iii] Federal, state, and institutional policymakers should ensure that all students have a pathway to admissions in higher education, regardless of immigration status.

[i]As described in the note provided in the introduction of this resource, DEIA programs and race-conscious policies generally vary in their terms and scope; most programs and services, as well as the recommendations offered in this document, are lawful under federal statutory and constitutional laws. Readers are encouraged to consult with their attorneys for legal advice to understand the rights and obligations of students, faculty, administrators, and greater society.

[ii]Plyer v. Doe is the June 1982 Supreme Court decision that stated it was unconstitutional for states to deny students a free public education on account of their immigration status.

[iii]Zong, Jie; & Batalova, Jeanne. “How Many Unauthorized Immigrants Graduate from U.S. High Schools Annually?” Migration Policy Institute, May 11, 2021. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/unauthorized-immigrants-graduate-us-high-schools#:~:text=Using%20this%20dataset%20and%20applying,U.S.%20high%20schools%20every%20year.