New Rights in a New Destination: Undocumented Youth in South Carolina and the Quest for Social Inclusion

There are an estimated 11 million immigrants in the US who are undocumented, 2.1 million of whom entered the country as children under the age of 16. Undocumented immigrant children attend public schools where they have the... [ view full abstract ]

There are an estimated 11 million immigrants in the US who are undocumented, 2.1 million of whom entered the country as children under the age of 16. Undocumented immigrant children attend public schools where they have the same rights to education as their citizen peers. However, by adolescence and early adulthood they become acutely aware that their legal status has significant implications for social inclusion later in life. As these youth develop, they find that they cannot legally work, vote, receive federal financial aid, or drive. In some immigrant new destinations—places that have not been home to new immigrants in generations—undocumented immigrant youth are even barred from attending public universities.

In June of 2012, President Obama introduced Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program that provides undocumented youth with temporary protection from deportation and permission to work legally in the US. DACA provides new mobility opportunities for undocumented youth, even if it falls short of providing a path to citizenship. Yet, in certain contexts the effects of DACA may be muted, particularly in new destination states such as South Carolina. How do DACA recipients in these contexts leverage their new protected status to overcome barriers to social exclusion?

Based on 40 in-depth interviews with DACA recipients in South Carolina, this study explores how DACA conditions the social and economic exclusion of undocumented young adults. Findings indicate that immigrant youth in South Carolina are relatively isolated from social institutions and local organizations. While DACA has allowed them to make some gains—particularly in the area of education—on-going resistance to immigrants at the state and local levels puts greater social inclusion out of reach. This paper is part of the author's proposed symposium entitled, "Immigrant Youth in Transition: Examining New Contexts, Barriers & Conditioning Criteria from Adolescence to Adulthood."