“We Are Legit Now”: Establishing undocumented student resource centers on campus

Abstract

Operating from Astin’s theory of involvement, we analyzed interviews with practitioners from 49 undocumented student resource centers (USRCs). Interview transcripts, shorthand notes, and memos, as well as key documents, provided the context for understanding the emergence, naming, and structure of USRCs at institutions of higher education. Study participants attributed the development of USRCs to undocumented student mobilization over the years. USRC naming was similarly attributed to undocumented students and the local sociopolitical environment regarding the terms immigrant, undocumented, and dreamer (from the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act). The structure of USRCs was responsive to the institution’s capacity, resources, undocumented student population size, and organizational structure.