UCLA

Undocumented youth have been powerful leaders in the undocumented immigrant rights movement to advance a more just society for immigrant communities (Nicholls, 2013; Perez, 2016). Community colleges are important spaces in the higher education sector because most undocumented college students attend community colleges (Teranishi et al., 2011). This dissertation study seeks to better understand the priorities and experiences of undocumented community college students who organize for institutional support for undocumented students. This study is guided by theories on counter-spaces in Critical Race Theory (Solorzano et al., 2000), spaces where Students of Color create a sense of safety and community with each other. The methods for this study are a case study of one community college in California, Western College (pseudonym), that has robust programs for undocumented students such as an Undocumented Student Resource Center and a designated staff position that works with undocumented students. Research questions asked how undocumented students organized for programs at Western College from 2006 to 2021, how they navigated power dynamics on campus, and how they reflected on their experiences. Data collection comprised 26 interviews with 11 undocumented student alumni, five current students attending Western College in 2021, and eight staff and faculty. I also analyzed over 50 documents such as webpages and institutional statements. Findings show how undocumented students envisioned building a counter-space for undocumented students where they could feel safe and comfortable away from the dominant campus culture of exclusion and hostility. They wanted support and guidance from staff, faculty, and administrators, but they made it clear they aspired to maintain the essence of a counter-space by keeping their programs student-led. As they reflected on their experiences, they were impressed by the number of resources available at their 4-year universities once they transferred, but they ultimately missed the intimate sense of community at Western College. They also sought to reproduce the counter-space they created at Western College in their areas of work. This study has implications for research, policy, and practice about the development of institutionalized counter-spaces.