<p>The primary goal of this study is to explore and learn about the life experience of undocumented college students in California. The researcher was interested in learning about identity, stressors, barriers, fears, mental health, strengths, motivation, college life and migrating experience. Furthermore, this study sought to learn about the impact and changes the California Dream Act (CA Dream Act), AB 540 and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) have produced for the current population of undocumented college students in California. The researcher conducted an online questionnaire and had a total of 17 participants. The findings revealed that respondents fear the loss of programs like DACA and continue facing an uncertain future in the United States. In addition, the researcher learned that undocumented children are aware of their undocumented legal status during their primary education years. The study also suggests that participants’ mental health has been impacted significantly by the barriers and fears associated with their legal status. Future research should focus on the long-term mental health effects that an undocumented legal status can have on an individual, thus examining the effects it places on the mental health and criminal justice system. Additionally, the researcher recommends that future studies examine how programs like DACA are changing undocumented immigrant identity, specifically, addressing how policy can impact an individual’s identity. </p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:10116149 |
| Date | 08 July 2016 |
| Creators | Rodriguez, Cristina |
| Publisher | California State University, Long Beach |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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