In partnership with the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, NAE released a new report, Undocumented Students in Higher Education: How Many Students Are in U.S. Colleges and Universities and Who Are They? The report shows for the first time how many undocumented students are enrolled at colleges and universities across the United States. With the Supreme Court’s decision on DACA expected to come as early as the end of April 2020, the report highlights the significant number of DACA-eligible individuals who are enrolled in higher education.
Meanwhile, as the COVID-19 pandemic underscores severe shortages in healthcare sectors across the country, the report also shows that undocumented students are a crucial part of the pipeline towards filling that gap. Indeed, 39 percent of undocumented graduate students already hold a bachelor’s degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) field. What’s more, 280,000 undocumented immigrants, including 62,000 DACA-eligible individuals, are already serving on the front lines of the Coronavirus crisis as healthcare workers.
To read the full report, click here.
