Undocumented Youth Navigate Dual Identities as Undocumented Students & "Illegal" Low-Wage Workers

This paper focuses on the experiences of undocumented community college students in the agricultural Central Valley of California. These students – employed in the extremely low-wage industries of agricultural,... [ view full abstract ]

This paper focuses on the experiences of undocumented community college students in the agricultural Central Valley of California. These students – employed in the extremely low-wage industries of agricultural, service-sector, or manual labor work in the Valley – straddle the line between undocumented student and “illegal” low-wage worker. Drawing on ethnographic data, this paper argues that undocumented young people navigate symmetrical experiences in the worlds of work and education – experiences that serve to keep them as exploitable and subjugated, low-wage workers rather than contribute to their development as educated Latino would-be- professionals.

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