Undocumented Immigrants and the FAFSA: A Delicate Situation
Alexandra Aranda debated filling out financial aid forms to continue college this year because she worried about jeopardizing her family’s safety.
Her parents are undocumented immigrants, meaning they lack Social Security numbers and have to check a box on the FAFSA form saying they don’t have one. Aranda is a U.S.-born citizen, but she worries the missing information would put her parents at risk given President Donald Trump’s promise to execute mass deportations.
Communities are gripped in anxiety as the Trump administration expands its efforts to find undocumented immigrants, including requesting personal data from federal agencies and building a migrant registry.
In Texas and other states with significant immigrant populations, that angst means families with mixed immigration statuses are weighing their children’s future against the fear of deportation.
The Education Lab
College access and immigration rights groups say they are fielding more questions this year on whether it’s safe to submit personal information on the FAFSA. In turn, the groups that have long urged all students to submit it are grappling with what advice to give.
“The answer we have currently for young people is not satisfying. It’s that we don’t know,” said Astou Thiane, director of policy at ImmSchools, a Dallas-based nonprofit focused on improving immigrants’ educational experiences. “There is a possibility that the information could be used, but you still have a right to pursue the resource.”
Several laws limit and protect the use of FAFSA data. The U.S. Department of Education, which administers FAFSA, typically does not share information gathered from the form with immigration-related agencies. And students born in the U.S. are eligible for federal aid, regardless of whether their parents are U.S. citizens.
Expert Opinions
“Understanding how many different policies would have to be overturned (for immigration officials to access the information), it doesn’t seem prudent to just say, ‘Well, okay, just don’t do the FAFSA,‘” said Sara Urquidez, executive director of Academic Success Program, a nonprofit that provides college counseling for students in Texas schools, including some in Dallas ISD.
She recommends mixed-status families fill out the FAFSA.
Before Trump’s election, “it wasn’t even a thought that we had to fear that these FAFSA records could make their way into the wrong hands,” Thiane said.
But then the National College Attainment Network, a nonprofit student advocacy group, released a statement in November stating it could not “assure mixed-status students and families that data submitted to U.S. Department of Education, as part of the FAFSA process, will continue to be protected.”
Alexandra’s Story
Alexandra Aranda poses for a photograph at her home in Mesquite, TX, on Mar 13, 2024. (Jason Janik/Special Contributor)
For Aranda, a sophomore at Texas A&M University, not submitting the FAFSA likely would mean giving up her dream of joining the human trafficking division of the FBI and her chance to be the first in her family to graduate from college.
Her father told her that wasn’t an option.
“Whatever happens is going to happen,” she recalled him saying. “If they send me back, you guys are old enough. You’re 20. You’re basically an adult.”
Challenges and Fears
The anxiety over federal financial aid comes after changes to FAFSA last year led to delays and technical glitches that made the process confusing and frustrating for families.
Students from mixed-status families faced additional hurdles when a technical issue prevented parents without a Social Security number from completing the form. Aranda worried she would have to drop out of college when she couldn’t find a way to verify her parents’ identities.
In Texas, 41% fewer seniors finished the application by early April last year compared to the year prior, according to an analysis of federal data.
Thiane of ImmSchools expects fears of immigration enforcement will have a “chilling effect” and contribute to a drop in this year’s completion rates, though it is too early to tell as FAFSA has a rolling deadline.
Conclusion
In the face of uncertainty, immigration rights and college access groups have turned their focus toward helping families decide whether they want to file the FAFSA.
“We’re telling them that this is a personal choice that you’re going to have to make. All we’re doing is making sure that you have all the information that you need so that you can make the best, informed choice,” Carrizales said. “But that doesn’t make it less difficult.”
It’s essential for hesitant families to understand how FAFSA information is used and protected, Urquidez of Academic Success Program said.
Aranda ultimately submitted the financial aid form in December.
When she grows anxious about her decision, she remembers what her parents told her: “You can’t worry about something you can’t control.”
FAQs
Q: What is FAFSA?
A: FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It is a form that students fill out to determine their eligibility for financial aid for college.
Q: Can undocumented immigrants fill out the FAFSA?
A: Undocumented immigrants cannot fill out the FAFSA, but their U.S.-born children can. However, the parents’ immigration status may affect the child’s eligibility for financial aid.
Q: Is it safe for mixed-status families to fill out the FAFSA?
A: The answer is not straightforward. While there are laws that protect the use of FAFSA data, there is still a risk that the information could be used for immigration enforcement. Families should weigh the risks and benefits and make an informed decision.
Q: What can families do to protect themselves?
A: Families can educate themselves about the FAFSA process and the laws that protect their information. They can also seek advice from college access and immigration rights groups.
