Focus on Education
Undocumented Students: Education vs. Documentation
More than a million students worry
• • • • • • • • February 2025 • • • • • • • •
Most children in California public schools are US citizens, born in the U.S.A. to parents who are also US citizens. But immigration is a big part of the story of California’s schools.
About a fifth of California students live in a family with insecure immigration status. Many households include a mix of U.S. citizens, authorized residents and unauthorized ones. This lesson focuses on California's undocumented students, including the available facts and estimates, as well as changing policies that matter deeply to children.
Are all children born in America US citizens?
The 14th amendment of the US Constitution establishes that anyone born in the United States is a US citizen. Adopted in 1868 during the Reconstruction era following the Civil War, this part of the constitution is vitally important to the education system.
In January of 2025, the Trump administration issued an executive order order to ignore this Constitutional provision:
“The privilege of United States citizenship does not automatically extend to persons born in the United States: (1) when that person’s mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth.”
A U.S. District Court promptly blocked the order on the basis that it violates the Constitution. As of this writing in late January, 2025, American children with undocumented family members are coping with tremendous uncertainties.
How many students are undocumented?
Family and personal documentation status is a serious concern for about a fifth of California students.
In 2024 the Urban Institute estimated that about 3.4% of California children aged 5-17 (236,000) don’t have authorized status and another 16.2% (1,138,000) are U.S. citizens who live in a family where no parent has authorized status. Overall, about a fifth of California students live in a family where immigration status affects them.
How do we know?
Most estimates of authorized and unauthorized immigration originate from close interpretation of survey data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau, which is in the business of understanding America’s population. The Urban Institute developed its estimate using IPUMS, the world’s largest database of individual microdata. In 2024, the Urban Institute created an excellent tool to explore data from 2022. It’s cutting-edge social science… and it has to be taken with a grain of salt. After all, the source of the data is a friendly person with a clipboard asking personal questions.
American public opinion about immigration is divided and changing, but Californians generally seem to feel that people who have settled here should be able to remain. According to a statewide survey in 2023 by the Public Policy Institute of California, 80% of Californians agree that undocumented immigrants should have a path to citizenship if they meet “certain requirements.”
Other researchers, drawing from the same data, reach somewhat different estimates, but the main point is that documentation is a serious concern for many, many California families.
Families that include some undocumented persons are described as having mixed immigration status. Afraid of being noticed (and perhaps deported), these families disproportionately avoid government contact, including applying for government-provided aid for their children, such as housing and health care.
In California, students who have undocumented status (or whose family has mixed immigration status) tend to have roots in Mexico or Central America, often from communities where a language other than Spanish is spoken. Perhaps a quarter of students who might worry about their family’s immigration status speak an Asian language. All of these students tend to be bilingual or multi-lingual.
Can undocumented students legally attend public school in California? Yes, they must!
In California, all kids must go to school, regardless of their paperwork.
Citizenship status is not a condition for enrollment in California K-12 schools. In 1982, the US Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 in Plyler v. Doe that immigration status may not serve as a condition for enrollment in American public schools. Access to public education in California is open to all resident students, regardless of immigration status.
Are schools safe places for undocumented families?
For decades, California lawmakers worked to make schools safe places for students, including undocumented students. In 2017, the California Values Act required that public schools limit the assistance they provide to immigration enforcement officials. Many districts took this a step further and established themselves as safe havens or sanctuary schools, with varying meanings. For example, many require federal immigration agents to have a warrant to enter their grounds.
In 2021, the federal government strained to provide housing for unaccompanied minors in California as the number of new arrivals surged. In San Diego, for example, teachers volunteered to educate new students housed at the San Diego Convention Center. Many of these children lost years of school. Newcomer schools, specially designed for new immigrants, were developed around the state. Additionally, the state-funded California Newcomer Education and Well-Being (CalNEW) program provided newcomer students, English learners, and immigrant families resources for basic needs, family engagement in the school community, and academic and linguistic support for students.
Under the Biden Administration, schools were considered sensitive locations in terms of immigration enforcement:
“We can accomplish our enforcement mission without denying or limiting individuals’ access to needed medical care, children access to their schools, the displaced access to food and shelter, people of faith access to their places of worship, and more. Adherence to this principle is one bedrock of our stature as public servants.”
In 2025, the Trump administration reversed this guidance, stating that "criminal" migrants may be arrested in sensitive locations:
“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest. The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.”
In 2024 the incoming Trump administration announced plans to implement strict border measures and expand detention facilities, increasing fear and anxiety among American students with undocumented family members.
What laws protect undocumented students?
Fear of deportation can make unauthorized families reluctant to bring their children to school. To reduce this dilemma, California law protects student information from being delivered to federal immigration enforcement authorities. The California Department of Education advises local school districts that:
- "State and federal laws prohibit educational agencies from disclosing personally identifiable student information to law enforcement, without the consent of a parent or guardian, a court order or lawful subpoena, or in the case of a health emergency.
- Districts must verify a student’s age and residency, but have flexibility in what documents or supporting papers they use. They do not have to use documents pertaining to immigration status.
- To determine age, for example, an LEA [education jargon for a school district or charter school] can rely on a statement from a local registrar, baptismal records, or an affidavit from a parent guardian or custodian.
- To determine residency, an LEA can rely on property tax receipts, pay stubs, or correspondence from a government agency."
In early 2025, California legislators introduced bills to block or dissuade immigration authorities from using schools for evidence-gathering or enforcement actions.
What is the DREAM Act?
In 2001 and subsequent years, Congress considered federal legislation to create a path to citizenship for immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children without documentation. As of 2025 it has not passed, and the Trump administration seems unlikely to pursue it.
Can undocumented students attend college in California?
Yes. Citizenship is not a condition for enrollment in California's system of community and four-year colleges. Undocumented students who are residents of California may attend California public colleges at resident tuition rates, a policy established in 2001.
In 2022, (the most recent year for which data were available in January 2025) 407,899 undocumented students were pursuing postsecondary education in the US, about 2% of the national total. The rate was somewhat higher in California: 86,805 undocumented college students comprised about 3% of the state total. For up-to-date advice for undocumented students attending college, readers can look to the National Immigration Law Center, The California School Boards Association, and EdTrust-West.
What is DACA?
DACA is a U.S. immigration policy established in 2012 that provides temporary relief from deportation and work authorization to certain undocumented individuals who arrived in the U.S. as children. They must be in school, graduated, obtained a GED, or honorably discharged from the U.S. Armed Forces or Coast Guard.
While DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) does not grant lawful resident status, it allows recipients to live and work in the U.S. without fear of removal for renewable two-year periods.
The DACA program has been a political football. After an attempt to pass the DREAM Act failed, the Obama administration created the DACA policy using an executive order. In his first administration, President Trump tried to cancel the program, also by executive order. The question worked its way up to the Supreme Court, which upheld DACA in 2020 in a complex, narrow ruling. In 2022, President Biden extended the program.
On Jan. 17, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a decision regarding the DACA Final Rule. As of January, 2025:
- DACA Renewals: US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will continue to accept and process DACA renewal requests and accompanying applications for employment authorization.
- Initial DACA Requests: USCIS will accept initial requests but will not process them at this time.
- Current DACA Grants: Existing grants of DACA and related Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) remain valid until their expiration unless individually terminated.
President Trump has sent mixed messages about DACA's future.
Impacts of DACA
By removing the risk of deportation, the DACA program created an incentive for undocumented students to pursue college. According to a 2019 survey, a robust 93% of respondents currently in school said that because of DACA, “[They] pursued educational opportunities that [they] previously could not.” In 2022, 67.6% of students said the same, and 43% of respondents reported already having earned a bachelor’s degree or higher.
DACA is complicated, and not all undocumented students are DACA-eligible. For example, applicants must have arrived in the U.S. before June 15, 2007. The number of students pursuing college through this program is waning. In 2021, 141,000 DACA-eligible students enrolled in higher education; however, in 2022, the number of DACA-eligible students dropped to 119,000.
What is the California DREAM Act?
California policies regarding college access for undocumented students frequently differ from federal policies. For example, federal rules exclude undocumented students from federal financial aid, student loan programs, and work-study programs.
The California DREAM Act (2011) eased access to college for undocumented students in California. The law allows undocumented residents of California to receive state financial aid such as Cal Grants to help cover their college costs. The law also allows public higher education institutions in California to provide scholarships and other aid under specific guidelines. In 2021, California law (Assembly Bill 132) began requiring high school seniors to fill out either the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the California Dream Act Application (CADAA). As a result, use of the CADAA went up, reaching more students.
Public opinion about immigration
The Pew Hispanic Center provides many useful surveys and sourcesto help shed light on this complex and changing segment of the California student body.
American public opinion about immigration is divided and changing, but Californians generally seem to feel that people who have settled here should be able to remain. According to a statewide survey in 2023 by the Public Policy Institute of California, 80% of Californians agree that undocumented immigrants should have a path to citizenship if they meet “certain requirements.”
This is a lesson from Ed100.org., a free on-line resource to help parents and community understand the education system and make a difference. You can sign up here.
Carol Kocivar is a children’s advocate and lives in the Westside. Feedback: kocivarATwestsideobserver.com
February 2025
