Comprehensive Study Notes — Undocumented Students’ Narratives of Liminal Citizenship

Introduction and Purpose of the Study

The article traces how U.S. immigration policy thrusts undocumented Latino youth into a socio-legal condition the authors dub “liminal citizenship.” This in-between status simultaneously permits and constrains their participation in U.S. society—most visibly in schooling beyond grade 12. By foregrounding students’ own narratives from rural eastern North Carolina, the study:

1. Illuminates how undocumented high-schoolers conceptualize higher education and citizenship.

2. Demonstrates how policy exclusions generate conflicted identities and curtailed life chances.

3. Argues for legislative changes (e.g., the DREAM Act) and geographers’ engagement with advocacy.

Rapid Latino Growth in the Rural U.S. South

• 1990s–2000s: Southern states experienced dramatic Latino in-migration; agriculture and concentrated animal feeding operations pulled labor to eastern North Carolina.

• Latino K–12 enrollment in North Carolina climbed (20{,}000 \rightarrow 150{,}000\;\text{students}), a nearly (8\times) increase from 1996–2009.

• In some counties Latino pupils now compose (25\% ) of total enrollment.

• Despite higher end-of-course scores than other minority groups, foreign-born Latinos exhibit the state’s highest dropout rates.

Policy Landscape and Statistical Backdrop

• Plyler v. Doe (1982): guarantees K–12 education regardless of status.

• Roughly (65{,}000) undocumented students finish U.S. high school each year yet face college barriers.

• Twelve states offer in-state tuition; North Carolina does not. Tuition therefore defaults to costly “out-of-state” rates plus exclusion from federal/state aid.

• The federal DREAM Act (first proposed 2001; bill S952) would provide conditional residency and in-state rates after \ge 2 years of college or military duty—legislation has stalled repeatedly.

Key Theoretical Constructs

Children’s Geographies

• A sub-field insisting that children/youth be treated as research subjects, not peripheral “objects.”

• Ethical imperative: let young people articulate how macro forces—migration, policy, racism—shape their micro everyday spaces (school, home, neighborhood).

Liminal Citizenship

• Adapted from Menjívar’s “liminal legality.” Undocumented children occupy a zone of “permanent temporariness,” simultaneously social insiders and legal outsiders.

• Citizenship is reframed as practice/performance (school success, community involvement) rather than solely legal paperwork.

• Students mobilize the U.S. meritocratic ideal—“I earned this by working hard”—to legitimate higher-education claims.

Multimethod, Student-Centered Methodology

1. Quantitative Survey (one county):

   • Population: all n=81 Latino high-schoolers; n=44 returned (19 F, 25 M; 31 foreign-born; 42 Mexican origin).

   • Instrument adapted from Portes & Rumbaut (2001); captured aspirations, perceived barriers, family dynamics, neighborhood context.

2. Qualitative, Semi-Structured Interviews (n=15 students + n=5 parents + service providers):

   • Three rural counties; range of GPAs 2.0–4.0; ages 14–18.

   • One extended case: Raul, a 27-year-old undocumented college graduate.

Narrative Case Studies

1. Raul – Valedictorian, B.A. + M.B.A.

• Arrived age 10; victim of peers’ stereotypes.

• Won private scholarships (≈\$6{,}000/yr) plus family labor to meet \$20{,}000 tuition at small private college.

• Excelled, hired as senior financial analyst; career derailed when Social Security mismatch exposed status.

• Could not adjust status without 10-year re-entry ban (“catch-22”). Finished MBA, now project accountant under tenuous legality.

• Advocates perseverance: education as “the one equalizing factor.”

2. Angela – 9th Grade, Academically Gifted

• Straight-A scholar, BETA Club, soccer. Dreams of becoming a biologist.

• Reports routine racialized slurs (“wetback”), even from teachers.

• Articulates identity confusion: “I’m not from Mexico or here.”

• Fears scholarship revocation once status surfaces; nonetheless entered a private college in 2011 on athletic aid.

3. Claudia – 11th Grade, Aspiring Social Worker

• Single-parent household; B+ average.

• Discouraged by costs; sets “realistic” community-college goal.

• Values giving back but wrestles with “Americanization” vs. imagined return to Veracruz.

Emergent Themes Across Interviews & Surveys

1. High Aspirations, Tempered Expectations

   • \approx 80\% of surveyed students wish to earn ≥ bachelor’s/graduate degree, yet only 45\% believe it attainable.

   • Many self-limit to 2-year colleges because four-year tuition + aid exclusion look insurmountable.

2. Financial & Legal Exclusion

   • 90\% of foreign-born respondents cite money as the #1 deterrent.

   • Out-of-state rates + no FAFSA eligibility create effective barriers, even in states where admission is permitted.

   • Fear of employment denial post-degree (validated by Raul’s experience) erodes motivation; some peers drop out.

3. Everyday Liminality & Identity Conflict

   • Youth internalize negative labels ("illegal," "criminal") producing guilt, shame, anxiety.

   • Simultaneous attachment to U.S. culture and lack of legal belonging fosters a “ni aquí, ni allí” (neither here nor there) identity.

   • Sociopolitical climate (schoolyard slurs, anti-immigrant news) heightens sense of exclusion.

4. Agency & Counter-Narratives

   • Students leverage academic excellence, community service, and professional aspirations (nurse, lawyer, engineer) to claim social membership.

   • Narratives emphasize contribution—"we could be another biologist," "I can help translate in hospitals"—as moral argument for inclusion.

Connections to Broader Literature & Policy Debates

• Mirrors Menjívar’s findings in California (legal liminality) & Abrego’s work on merit-based claims to justice.

• Echoes geography’s child-centered epistemology (Philo & Smith; Holloway & Valentine), underscoring macro-policy impacts on micro-geographies of youth.

• Reinforces quantitative studies (Kaushal 2008) showing in-state tuition boosts enrollment; supports advocacy for DREAM Act & Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA 2012) while noting DACA’s temporary, renewable 2-year relief does not resolve long-term liminality.

Practical, Ethical, and Policy Implications

1. For Educators & Geographers

   • Mentor undocumented students; create scholarship streams; lobby campus administrations for inclusive admissions/aid policies.

   • Incorporate immigrant youth voices into curricula to humanize policy debates.

2. For Legislators

   • Pass federal DREAM Act (or similar) to convert K–12 investment into skilled human capital, avoiding an “entrenched underclass.”

   • Remove out-of-state surcharge for long-term resident students; align tuition policy with moral commitment of Plyler v. Doe.

3. For Society at Large

   • Recognize undocumented youths’ tax contributions (Raul paid payroll taxes he cannot claim).

   • Trade-offs of exclusion: wasted talent, societal loss of potential doctors, scientists, social workers, etc.

Conclusion

Undocumented Latino youths in rural North Carolina exemplify liminal citizenship—welcomed as pupils yet barred as collegians and professionals. Their compelling narratives reveal resilience and ambition but also deep psychological and material costs of policy-induced exclusion. Geography’s concern with spatial justice and children’s lived realities positions the discipline—and all educators—as critical allies in transforming these “in-between” identities into fully realized, recognized forms of citizenship.