“I Just Can’t Stand Being Like This Anymore”: Dilemmas, Stressors, and Motivators for Undocumented Mexican Women in Higher Education

Abstract

This study examines the stress factors associated with college persistence among a sample of four undocumented Mexican immigrant women from a small rural community in the Rocky Mountain region. Using Chicana feminist epistemological techniques to analyze data collected from in-depth interviews, this study yielded four major findings that include: (a) financial stressors and missed opportunities, (b) making meaning in their college degrees as undocumented immigrants, (c) coping with stress while navigating legal status, and (d) anxiety with the navigation of campus resources and climate. Recommendations for student affairs practitioners and future research are discussed.