Digest No. 14 – Spring 2025

Article: Undocumented Students in Higher Education

American Immigration Council and Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration. Fact Sheet, Undocumented Students in Higher Education: How Many Students Are in U.S. Colleges and Universities, and Who Are They? (New York City, 2023). https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/undocumented_students_in_higher_education_2023.pdf

This article summarizes relevant statistics so that colleges and universities can better understand their undocumented students. Some key statistics in the report include:

  • Undocumented students make up about 2% of all college students in the US.
  • DACA or DACA eligible students make up about one-third of undocumented students and only 0.7% of all college students.
  • About 75% of undocumented students came to the US as young children.
  • Adult undocumented students have lived in the US an average of 8 years.
  • Undocumented students represent a large variety of racial groups. Approximately 46% are Hispanic, 27% Asian, 14% Black, and 10% White.
  • Some states bar undocumented students from enrolling at state-institutions, others bar them from receiving in-state tuition.