Fear of Deportation in High School: Implications for Breaking the Circle of Silence Surrounding Migration Status

Long-term ethnographic data on the daily lives of undocumented students, their teachers, and administrators reveal the effects of fear of deportation (De Genova, 2002) on the routine of a high school. Thirty years after Plyler v. Doe guaranteed the educational rights of undocumented students, this study finds many factors contributing to the creation of a Circle of Silence around these students’ rights and access to schooling that threatens the educational opportunities of a significant population of immigrant students. The implications of this study reveal how schools can become a space to interrupt this vicious cycle through awareness, counseling, and advocacy.