The status of undocumented students is a significant contemporary issue in postsecondary education, as the demographics of the United States are rapidly changing with a rising number of undocumented Latin@ students enrolling in postsecondary education. Although approximately 65,000 undocumented students graduate from U.S. high schools each year, these students' citizenship statuses serve as a barrier to the admission, financing, and completion of higher education (UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education, 2007). Little is known about the experiences of undocumented Latin@ college students and university educators will benefit from learning about the experiences of resilient undocumented Latin@ students to inform best practice for serving this student population. In this study, I use Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Latino Critical Theory (LatCrit) with a resilience framework to analyze data from semi-structured interviews with 16 undocumented Latin@ college students who are enrolled in or recently graduated from four-year institutions of higher education throughout the United States. Through the use of qualitative interviews, I explore how undocumented Latin@ college students demonstrate resilience while navigating higher education. The research question guiding this study is: How do undocumented Latin@ college students demonstrate resilience as they navigate higher education? I explore this main question through two sub questions: 1. How does being undocumented shape a student's college experience? 2. What factors help undocumented students overcome challenges encountered in higher education?Participants reported that being undocumented shaped their experiences related to perception of campus climate, emotional challenges, academic and career limitations, and organizational involvement. Students demonstrated resilience through environmental factors such as relationships with family, peers, mentors, and other educational gatekeepers, as well as through maintaining ties to their home community, and through involvement in campus or community organizations. Students also demonstrated resilience through personal factors such as being future-oriented, effectively navigating the system, using effective coping behaviors, and embracing the connection between the personal and the political. The discussion includes addressing themes related to CRT such as positionality, use of an anti-deficit approach, color-blindness, racist nativism, and interest convergence. Related themes of microaggressions, along with the importance of identity-based campus spaces, improving educator skills, and emphasizing an ethic of care are also explored. Implications for practice include raising awareness among educators and proactively showing support for this student group through visible ally programs, having positive interactions with students, serving as a resource, and helping to create networks of support for these students. Improving university resources includes practices such as creating formal peer and faculty/staff mentoring programs, dedicating physical campus spaces for a related student office with centralized resources, and enacting non-discrimination policies. Building connections external to postsecondary institutions includes involving the community, families, and K-12 partnerships in supporting undocumented students in achieving their higher education goals. The study concludes with a discussion of limitations and suggestions for future research.
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