Mendiola 1

Jessa Mendiola
Professor Sotirakopulos
English 1102 H
6 October 2015
The American Dream and the Undocumented Mexican Youth
As a first generation immigrant, I do not have parents with experiences and resources that
will help facilitate my obstacles in college and in my future careers. Although they try their best
to help me, I usually have to learn the ways of American society by myself. Even though I face
difficulties as a legal immigrant, things are even harder for illegal immigrants. There are many
illegal and undocumented immigrants from the Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico
(Drachman 91). Most of these illegals entered the United States by crossing the Mexican border
with Mexico, [while] others entered with stolen or fraudulent visas or simply overstayed legal
visas (Drachman 91). The undocumented Mexican immigrants brought their children with
them, and these children became Americas undocumented, Mexican youths (Gonzales 602).
Like many young immigrants, they hope for a better future shown by the American Dream: good
education and occupations. By using research by Drachman, Abrego, Gonzales, Livingston,
Kahn, and USA Today, I plan to see if the pursuit of the American Dream is hindered or aided
through college education and job opportunities for the undocumented, Mexican youth.
A person would need a college degree to qualify for jobs that offer decent wages,
benefits, job security, and possibility of advancement (Gonzales 603). However, undocumented
Mexican youths cannot easily obtain a secondary education. They face a confusing sets of laws
that both facilitate and hinder their education opportunities. In the Plyler vs Doe Supreme Court
decision of 1982, undocumented students are guaranteed a K-12 education (Drachman 91).

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However, federal laws such as Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 forbid
undocumented students from receiving financial benefits to attend college, and the Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) and Illegal Immigration
Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) exclude them from obtaining state benefits
such as scholarships and in-state tuition (Drachman 91-92). While undocumented students are
allowed to receive a secondary education, federal laws do not help decrease the financial burden
by offering them scholarships and in-state tuition. However, due to different interpretation of the
IIRIRA, there are a small amount of states such as Texas, California, New York, Illinois,
Oklahoma, and New Mexico that gives undocumented students in-state tuition. Texas,
Oklahoma, and New Mexico also offer financial aid to these students (Drachman 96). In-state
tuition and financial aid would make a large difference for undocumented illegal youths,
especially if they live in a state of poverty with limited financial resources.
Professor Leisy J. Abrego from the Department of Anthropology, University of California
and Professor Robert G. Gonzales from the School of Social Work, University of Washington
wrote the article Blocked Paths, Uncertain Futures: The Postsecondary Education and Labor
Market Prospect of Undocumented Latino Youth. By utilizing data from their own studies, they
argue that the youth needs more opportunities to obtain a postsecondary education (Abrego and
Gonzales 146). Since undocumented youths are faced with poverty-stricken cities with lowperforming schools, their educational and occupational mobility are negatively affected (Abrego
and Gonzales 147-148). Since they cannot receive financial aid, it is very difficult for them to
afford a college education that would increase the chances for social mobility (Abrego and
Gonzales 149). Without a college education, the youth could work illegally in low-wage
occupation with little to no chance for upward mobility (Abrego and Gonzales 152). College

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education can provide students with opportunities and connections to obtain jobs, but education
is not always enough despite common beliefs.
There is a common conception that education would be a key to better job opportunities
for immigrants. In the American Dream, financially-secured jobs bring economic success and
benefits for immigrants. This view is shared by many, including PEW researcher Gretchen
Livingston, and Professor of Sociology, Joan Kahn. In their article, An American Dream
Unfulfilled: The Limited Mobility of Mexican Americans they found that Mexican-Americans
assimilate into society curvilinearly, in which the second-generation immigrants succeed the
most (Livingston and Kahn 1006-1008). Livingston and Kahn conclude that increases in human
capital, such as education, should improve work experience and economic status of MexicanAmerican throughout the generations (1010). However, undocumented, Mexican youth faces
difficulties in obtaining high-paying and secured jobs despite their levels of education.
The aforementioned Gonzales, in his article titled, "Learning to Be Illegal:
Undocumented Youth and Shifting Legal Contexts in the Transition to Adulthood, talks about
the limited job opportunities that the undocumented Mexican youth faces. By using one hundred
and fifty interviews of these youths, he learned that early-exiters, or high school dropouts, would
face some of the same limited and limiting employment option as their parents (Gonzales 612).
They would need to work illegally in low paying jobs since they do not have a social security
number. Gonzales continues on with how he found a high degree of convergence among
college-goers and earlier exiters as...by their mid-20s, both sets of respondents held similar
occupations (614). Since both groups stayed in low-paying jobs, he concludes that educational
progress is irrelevant because of their illegal status, which decreases their chances of obtaining
job opportunities that will increase job mobility (Gonzales 616).

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Now, people might say that there are undocumented Mexican youths who have obtained
good jobs despite their illegal status. For example, in the USA Today article titled Illegal
Immigrants Find Paths to College, Careers, twenty-four undocumented people across the
country were interviewed about their occupations. The article mostly focuses on a story of
Adriana Sanchez, an undocumented Mexican who was able to pay for college and graduate
schools through internships and volunteer work. As of now, she works as an independent
contractor since federal law does not require employers to ask for proof of immigration for this
field (Illegal Immigrants). Although it is not incomprehensible to imagine undocumented and
high-achieving Mexican youth receiving good jobs, twenty-four interviews seems limited and
nonrepresentative compared to the one hundred and fifty interviews done by Gonzales. Also, the
article focus mostly on Sanchez, one successful Mexican immigrant. She cannot fully
represent the large majority of undocumented Mexican youth who have not reach these job
opportunities because of their illegal status, difficulties in obtaining a college education, and little
social connections. Thus, I would agree more with Gonzaless view of the undocumented youth
and the job opportunities due to the more representative interviews and expertise.
To conclude, illegal, undocumented Mexican youth does have difficulties obtaining the
American Dream of a better education and careers due to the limitations placed on postsecondary education and job opportunities. Considering the circumstances they face, the best
way to deal with this problem would be to grant legal status to these youths. However, such
solution will not be fully accepted in American society. If these youths are instead given some
form of aid, some information about the accessibility of postsecondary education, some form of
work permit, then they can obtain the skills, the experience, and the degree that may aid them to
obtain a better life than their parents.

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Works Cited
Abrego, Leisy J., and Roberto G. Gonzales. "Blocked Paths, Uncertain Futures: The
Postsecondary Education and Labor Market Prospects of Undocumented Latino Youth."
Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk (JESPAR) 15.1-2 (2010): 144-57.
Taylor & Francis Online. Web. 27 Sept. 2015.
Drachman, Edward. "Access To Higher Education For Undocumented Students."Peace Review
18.1 (2006): 91-100. Academic Search Complete. Web. 27 Sept. 2015.
Gonzales, R. G. "Learning to Be Illegal: Undocumented Youth and Shifting Legal Contexts in
the Transition to Adulthood." American Sociological Review 76.4 (2011): 602-19.
American Sociological Association. Web.
<http://www.asanet.org/images/journals/docs/pdf/asr/Aug11ASRFeature.pdf>.
"Illegal Immigrants Find Paths to College, Careers." USATODAY.COM. 2012 USA TODAY, n.d.
Web. 29 Sept. 2015. <http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/education/story/2012-0526/illegal-immigrants-college-careers/55222438/1>.
Livingston, Gretchen, and Joan R. Kahn. "An American Dream Unfulfilled: The Limited
Mobility Of Mexican Americans." Social Science Quarterly (Wiley-Blackwell) 83.4
(2002): 1003-1012. Business Source Complete. Web. 25 Sept. 2015