State officials warn that fears over immigration enforcement and data sharing are discouraging undocumented students and mixed-status families from applying for college financial aid.
California higher education officials say they are seeing a troubling and sustained decline in completion rates of the California Dream Act Application known as CADAA. The program provides financial assistance to immigrant students without permanent legal status and to students from mixed status families.
Officials say the trend suggests that undocumented students and mixed status families are increasingly weighing whether it is safe to apply for financial aid and pursue higher education.
When students have to weigh their financial and educational futures against the safety of their families we are facing a college access crisis that further deepens inequities for immigrant origin families said Niki Kangas spokesperson for the California Student Aid Commission during a May 7 news briefing.
CADAA is different from the federal financial aid application known as FAFSA. Students without legal status cannot apply for FAFSA but students from mixed status families can apply as long as they themselves have documentation.
However concerns about immigration enforcement and data sharing have been affecting students during President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. These concerns include a contentious agreement between the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to share information as well as the recent release of drivers license data.
There are really talented students here in the state of California who want the opportunity to go to college said Esther Mejia a first generation student working on her masters degree at the University of California Riverside. But right now given everything that is happening in our political climate they have to struggle with the decision of going to college versus protecting their families.
However Kangas emphasized that CADAA is immigrant safe and that college is still possible and California is not walking away from students.
What do the numbers say
According to data from the California Student Aid Commission the state is home to 3.3 million students from mixed status families which Kangas described as not a marginal population.
This is a core part of California student population and workforce future she said.
During the last FAFSA cycle 36816 high school first time applicants from mixed status families completed the FAFSA.
