Non-Citizen Mexican Youth in US Higher Education: A Closer Look at the Relationship between State Tuition Policies and College Enrollment1. Issue 4 (December 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bozick, Robert; Miller, Trey; Kaneshiro, Matheu
• Is Part Of: International migration review. Volume 50:Issue 4(2016:Winter)
• Page Start: 864
• Page End: 889
• Publication Date: 2016-12
• Subjects: Emigration and immigration -- Periodicals; 325.05
• DOI: 10.1111/imre.12167
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0197-9183

Abstract

This paper examines state policies that extend or deny in-state tuition to children of undocumented immigrants in the United States. Using the Current Population Survey (1997–2010), we assess changes in college enrollment among Mexican-born non-citizens — a proxy for the undocumented population. In contrast to previous analyses, we find that policies extending in-state tuition to undocumented youth do not directly affect rates of college enrollment. However, we find that Mexican-born non-citizen youth residing in states that deny in-state tuition have a 12.1 percentage point lower probability of being enrolled in college than their peers living in states with no such policies.