Winner of the CEP Mildred Garcia Award for Exemplary ScholarshipAbout 2.4 million children and young adults under 24 years of age are undocumented. Brought by their parents to the US as minors many before they had reached their teens they account for about one-sixth of the total undocumented population. Illegal through no fault of their own, some 65,000 undocumented students graduate from the nation's high schools each year. They cannot get a legal job, and face enormous barriers trying to enter college to better themselves and yet America is the only country they know and, for many, English is the only language they speak. What future do they have? Why are we not capitalizing, as a nation, on this pool of talent that has so much to contribute? What should we be doing?Through the inspiring stories of 16 students from seniors in high school to graduate students William Perez gives voice to the estimated 2.4 million undocumented students in the United States, and draws attention to their plight. These stories reveal how despite financial hardship, the unpredictability of living with the daily threat of deportation, restrictions of all sorts, and often in the face of discrimination by their teachers so many are not just persisting in the American educational system, but achieving academically, and moreover often participating in service to their local communities. Perez reveals what drives these young people, and the visions they have for contributing to the country they call home.Through these stories, this book draws attention to these students predicament, to stimulate the debate about putting right a wrong not of their making, and to motivate more people to call for legislation, like the stalled Dream Act, that would offer undocumented students who participate in the economy and civil life a path to citizenship. Perez goes beyond this to discuss the social and policy issues of immigration reform. He dispels myths about illegal immigrants supposed drain on state and federal resources, providing authoritative evidence to the contrary. He cogently makes the case on economic, social, and constitutional and moral grounds for more flexible policies towards undocumented immigrants. If today s immigrants, like those of past generations, are a positive force for our society, how much truer is that where undocumented students are concerned?"

This anthology explores the relationships between Chicana/o students, families, and communities and the various school settings that comprise the education pipeline, from Kindergarten classrooms through postsecondary programs and postgraduate experiences. The essays, which appeared in Aztlan: A Journal of Chicano Studies between 1970 and 2015, present a historical overview that spans the 1880s to the present. It brings together the work of scholars who have elucidated Chicana/o education, and the resulting collection simultaneously historicizes current education research and bolsters our understanding of Chicanas/os' multifaceted relationship to schooling in the United States. Among the topics considered are bilingual education and cultural relevance, teacher expectations and student achievement, racism and sexism in postsecondary education, the Chicano movement and the high school walkouts, anti-ethnic studies legislation, school finance and governance, and Joteria identity. Together, the essays reveal how educational institutions have operated in contradictory ways for Chicana/o students: they have depressed and marginalized as well as emancipated and empowered them. The Chicana/o Education Pipeline presents the story of the struggle and perseverance of Chicana/o students, families, and communities as they have fought for a more equitable education.