Undocumented immigrant students in the United States

Undocumented immigrant students in the United States are foreign-born students who are attending school in the country but do not have authorization to live here. For example, these students may have entered the country by crossing the border without authorization or overstayed temporary visas. Some were brought into the United States by their parents when they were young. The majority of undocumented migrants living in the United States entered the country lawfully but did not leave when they were supposed to.

Researchers estimate that between 600,000 and 800,000 undocumented migrant children and young adults live in the United States, although precise figures are difficult to determine. The US Supreme Court ruled in Plyer v. Doe (1982) that undocumented children have the same right to a public K–12 education as their peers under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. However, these students often face obstacles when receiving an education, such as language barriers, fear of deportation, fear for undocumented relatives, harassment from anti-immigrant communities, and bullying. School officials sometimes encounter situations in which students' caregivers have been detained by immigration enforcement, prompting schools to identify safe arrangements for affected children.

Background

Public education in the United States has a checkered history. Settlers of the original colonies had different views about education. For example, in seventeenth-century Massachusetts, children were required to attend elementary school to learn to read the Bible. Pennsylvanians established free public education for low-income families in 1790. However, wealthy families were expected to pay for their children’s education. Many nineteenth-century school systems, such as the New York Public School Society, established free schools for students from low-income families to ensure they grew up to become obedient factory workers. When 3.1 million immigrants from Europe arrived in the United States between 1846 and 1856, factory owners again looked to free public schools to mold the newcomers into docile employees.

Beginning in the 1840s, reformers systematically developed schools in all states. In these common schools, dozens of students relied on one teacher. The teacher taught the oldest students, who then taught the next-oldest group. This group would then teach the next-oldest group, and so on. Such public schools drew considerable opposition. Taxpayers did not want to pay to educate children of all social classes. Churches believed that students would not learn enough about religion or the religious studies they favored. Private school teachers feared they would lose wages and jobs.

One of the first court decisions requiring states to provide education to immigrants was a 1905 US Supreme Court case in California. The court determined that all children were entitled to an education, regardless of family immigration status, and the state was ordered to educate the children of Chinese immigrants. Later cases in California tried to remove students from schools. Proposition 187, passed by voters in 1994, made it illegal for children of undocumented immigrants to attend public school. The law, however, was declared unconstitutional by federal courts.

Overview

Undocumented immigrants in the United States face several obstacles to obtaining an education. These include language barriers, difficulties in enrolling, and fear of deportation, which prevents some students from attempting to enroll. Those who graduate from high school and wish to pursue secondary education may be unable to do so because of cost or other barriers, depending on the state.

Students who attain proficiency in English have a greater chance of gaining knowledge in other subjects. Lau v. Nichols, decided in 1974, established that public schools must provide supplemental language instruction; the US Supreme Court found in a unanimous decision that not doing so violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Despite the law, many students receive inadequate English language classes. An estimated 44 percent of undocumented students older than five speak English less than "very well." In 2021, the percentage of US public school students classified as English language learners (ELLs) was 10.6 percent, a slight increase from 2011's 9.4 percent. The percentage was 10 percent or greater in several states, including Alaska, California, Colorado, Kansas, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Washington. Spanish was the primary language of the majority of ELL students in most states. Most ELL students are enrolled in kindergarten and early elementary grades. The distribution of ELL students in public schools indicates that many students gain English proficiency by the twelfth grade.

Many undocumented students face challenges when enrolling in school. For example, local district officials may demand proof of residency. Undocumented families may not have formal lease arrangements and, therefore, no utility bills or other proof of residency. Some districts demand Social Security numbers despite the courts finding such requirements illegal. Districts in some states, such as Virginia, demand proof that the adult enrolling the student has custody of the child. School districts have encouraged parents to enroll children in alternate programs, which are usually established for unruly students, or delay enrollment until after the student body has completed annual standardized tests. Such tactics are usually attributed to school officials’ concerns that ELL students will lower overall scores for the school.

Undocumented students pursuing higher education also face many obstacles. The law does not guarantee education beyond grade twelve. Undocumented high school graduates are not eligible for federal financial aid, and many states do not provide them with financial assistance. Most states do not allow undocumented students who have graduated from high school to qualify to pay in-state college tuition rates. However, about twenty-five states—including California, Texas, New York, and Illinois—passed laws in the 2010s and 2020s allowing eligible undocumented students to access in-state tuition and, in some cases, state financial aid. The students must meet specific residency and academic criteria. Some states and the District of Columbia also began providing access to state financial aid. However, some states reversed these policies; Florida repealed its in-state tuition provision for undocumented students in February 2025, reversing a decade-old law that allowed such access.

Many undocumented students have been attending US schools under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. This allows some undocumented migrants who moved to the United States before the age of sixteen to apply for renewable two-year stays to avoid deportation and obtain work authorization. Many colleges and states that have eased restrictions on funding for undocumented migrants have done so to support DACA students. In 2017, the administration of President Donald Trump began efforts to cancel the DACA program, which protected an estimated 700,000 young adults, commonly called Dreamers, but was blocked from doing so by the Supreme Court in 2020. In 2021, the Biden administration reinstated the program. However, federal court rulings found the program unlawful and prohibited the government from approving new applications while allowing renewals for those already part of the program. The DACA program remained in this limbo state through the mid-2020s, and its future continued to be debated in the courts and Congress.

In 2023, Title 42 of the US Public Health Service Act (1944) expired, resulting in a notable increase in newly arriving accompanied and unaccompanied migrant children, many of whom entered school systems across the country, particularly in border states. This influx had significant implications for public education, especially concerning language instruction, trauma-informed care, and enrollment logistics.

Starting in 2025, the second Trump administration further challenged the stability of the program and detained and/or deported several DACA recipients as part of its crackdown on unauthorized immigration. The following year, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to bring back a DACA recipient it had deported to Mexico. 

Bibliography

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Broder, Tanya, and Ignacia Rodriguez Kmec. “Higher Education for Immigrant Students.” National Immigration Law Center, 8 Sept. 2025, www.nilc.org/resources/toolkit-higher-education-for-immigrant-students. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.

Cheney, Kyle. “Judge Orders Trump Administration to Bring Back DACA Recipient Deported to Mexico.” Politico, 24 Mar. 2026, www.politico.com/news/2026/03/24/daca-recipient-deportation-ruling-00841604. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.

Connery, Chelsea. “Issue Brief: The Impact of Undocumented Status on Children’s Learning.” University of Connecticut Neag School of Education, 23 July 2018, today.uconn.edu/2018/07/issue-brief-the-impact-of-undocumented-status-on-childrens-learning/. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.

“Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).” The Nolo Network, www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/deferred-action-childhood-arrivals-daca. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.

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“National Data on Immigrant Students.” Higher Ed Immigration Portal, www.higheredimmigrationportal.org/national/national-data. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.

“Undocumented Students in U.S. Higher Education.” The Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, 23 July 2024, www.presidentsalliance.org/undocumented-students-in-us-higher-education. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.