EDUCATIONAL CONSTRAINTS
OF IMMIGRANT STUDENTS
IN THE UNITED STATES
Shedding light on the children of immigrants who are shaping this country’s future
MY PERSONAL STORY
I started my first mentorship in October 2019 at Baker Elementary School, San Diego. Both of my mentees, Alexandre Smith and Jocelyn Resendiz, are immigrant students from low socio-economic families. During my one year of mentorship, I attended classes with them once every week, brought them to my university site, and met with their families multiple times.
While I was mentoring them, I found that both of them and their families were facing difficulties including financial issues, language barriers, and lack of parental involvement. This mentoring experience did not only encourage me to continue mentoring but also inspired me to do further research on the circumstance and potential development of immigrant children in the United States.
Immigrant students are more
likely to drop out school
and never go back
Three obstacles block
children in these families
from pursuing basic education
47% children in immigrant families live below 200% of the poverty threshold
IMMIGRANT CHILDREN FACE GREATER FINANCIAL OBSTACLES
In the United States, 26.9 million children under age 18 live in low-income families. Of them, 8.5 million were immigrant children.
Due to the limitations of language and education, immigrant families are more likely to struggle with fulfilling basic living needs. As a result, children of immigrants have significantly higher rates of poverty and are more likely to grow up in low-income households compared to their native-born counterparts.
47% of immigrants
ages 5 and older are
Limited English Proficient
LIMITATIONS IN LANGUAGE FURTHER EXAGGERATE THE PROBLEM
Language barriers are common issues faced by children from immigrant families. Over 37 million immigrants speak a language other than English at home in the United States.
Second language learning is difficult and different. Growing up in such bilingual or non-English speaking homes, children tend to have lower levels of English proficiency when they attend school. Among English Learners in the fourth grade public school, 91% of them scored below the proficient level in reading.
Obstacles to Immigrant Parent Participation in Schools
Parental involvement is an essential commitment to childhood development and a key predictor of a student's academic achievement. While active parental supports ensure children having healthy childhood development and strong academic achievement, inactive parental participation may produce negative consequences on student's educational outcomes.
However, due to all the financial, language, cultural, and educational barriers, studies have found that immigrant parents are less likely to be involved in their child’s education and school than native-born parents.
Among all the immigrant children in the U.S., 52% of them grow up in families in which parents have difficulty speaking English.
21% of the immigrant children live in a household where both parents have less than a high school degree.
Lack of formal education and exposure to use English in daily lives impact immigrant parents' abilities to help their children with schoolwork. Moreover, since many of the immigrant parents are still struggling financially, they only have limited time to involve in their children's educational development.
1 in 5 children in the United States is an immigrant or has immigrant parents
THE POPULATION OF IMMIGRANT CHILDREN IS GROWING, SAME AS THE DISPARITY
Most immigrant children are U.S. citizens, and they make up an increasing share of the nation’s future hope.
As we mentioned above, compared to kids in U.S.-born families, kids in immigrant families are more likely to grow up in low-income households.
However, they are also more likely to have parents who work full-time year-round compared to their native-born counterparts. Almost all (96%) of immigrant parents have contributed to the nation’s economy for more than five years.
Most immigrant parents work hard and support the nation's economy. Their children deserve access to quality education, language learning, and financial support opportunities.
“Whatever savings might be achieved by denying these children an education, they are wholly insubstantial in light of the costs involved to these children, the State, and the Nation.”
U.S. Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan
WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP?
1) Stand up for children seeking protection
Advocate for children from immigrant families to ensure their voices are heard, their rights are realized and their issues are given top priority. As we know, the Trump Administration undermines the legal rights of vulnerable immigrant children seeking protection. Future policy decisions and educational practice must resolve the problem and need to reflect the importance of academic development and the family well-being of immigrant children.
Your voice is important and powerful. Use your words to urge Congress to take action against these harmful policies and do what’s right.
2) Your donation makes a difference
Your kind help has the power to unlock a young person's potential. Your donation can support children from immigrant families to pursue basic education.
3) Help those around you
If you know someone who needs help, you can check out these resources to find different financial aid opportunities, educational and employment supports.
- The Esperanza Education Fund - A organization that provides college scholarships to local immigrant students planning on enrolling at a public college or university.
- Resources for Immigrant and Refugee Communities - A program that collects 60 resources for immigrants from education, employment to financial issues. The resources include toolkits, informational pages, guides, and organizational websites.
4) Begin your path to mentorship
Mentoring takes courage, but it can make a difference in the life of a young person. You will be surprised that some simple things that may seem straightforward to you are actually complete mysteries to a young immigrant kid. And You might also be surprised how impactful your help can be to a young immigrant child.
"When I grow up, I want to go to college and become someone like you."
From my mentee Jocelyn Resendiz
Just like what I did, you can also support these children from immigrant families to gain confidence and to build college dreams. Your precious help can benefit them to succeed in school and beyond.
SOURCES
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“Children in immigrant families in which resident parents have difficulty speaking English in the United States” KIDS COUNT data center: A project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2018. https://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/132-children-in-immigrant-families-in-which-resident-parents-have-difficulty-speaking-english?loc=1&loct=2#detailed/2/2-53/true/37/any/479
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“More Than Half of Kids in Immigrant Families Lived in Low-Income Households in 2016.” KIDS COUNT data center: A project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2018. https://datacenter.kidscount.org/updates/show/189-more-than-half-of-kids-in-immigrant-families-lived-in-low-income-households-in-2016
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Thao, Mao. “Parent Involvement in School.” Wilder Research, 2009. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED511597.pdf.
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