While deportations are on the rise around the country, college-bound high school seniors with immigrant parents in California had to decide this spring whether to apply for federal financial aid. Their fear is that the federal government would use sensitive personal information from the application to identify persons in the nation who do not have legal status. An agreement between the IRS and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement to share tax information is already in the works.
However, the most recent data available from the California Student Aid Commission reveal that the number of high school senior candidates from mixed-status homes has not declined as much as some financial aid advocates predicted. In reality, the number of high school senior applicants with at least one parent lacking legal status has nearly recovered to 2023 levels, after the amended financial aid form last year prevented them from applying without parental Social Security numbers for several months.
Despite the risk of exposing their parents to a deportation dragnet, 35% more college-bound high school graduates from mixed-status households had submitted a Free Application for Federal Student Aid by the May 2 deadline than had done so the previous year. However, 9% fewer high school seniors from mixed-status families filed their FAFSA than the same day two years earlier. Community college students are noticeably omitted from these figures, as they have a separate deadline of September 2.
Students who do not complete a financial assistance application forfeit the opportunity to receive federal grants, work study, or loans. While the federal deadline is not until the end of the academic year for which a student applies, California has set its own early deadline for the FAFSA to determine state aid, such as Cal Grants.
California officials granted students a one-month delay from April 2 to May 2 to submit the FAFSA because the US Department of Education started the application in December 2024 rather than the typical October launch.
The California Student Aid Commission manages financial aid programs for California students and works with groups that assist students with their financial aid applications. Shelveen Ratnam, the commission’s spokesperson, stated that the federal student aid application should have been easier for mixed-status families this time.
“Now the concern this year has kind of been the federal landscape, the federal administration, given… all the increased immigration enforcement (and) the unprecedented data sharing between federal agencies,” Ratnam told the crowd.
Parents must provide personal information, such as their Social Security numbers, when applying for government financial help. If parents do not have them owing to their legal status, they must check the box labeled “I do not have an SSN.” Although Ratnam and other commission staff are not aware of any efforts by immigration enforcement to obtain the personal information of FAFSA applicants, some students expressed concern that their parents’ personal information could be used to deport them.
Students and parents confront a tough decision.
College-bound high school graduates in California who spoke with CalMatters for this story think the necessity of attending college trumps concerns about their parents being deported.
Janet, a graduate of Hawthorne High School in Los Angeles County, admitted to being nervous when she and her parents filled out the application for the first time. Because of her family’s mixed legal status, she requested to be addressed exclusively by her first name. One of Janet’s parents, who does not have permanent legal status, expressed worry that submitting the application to the federal government would expose them to immigration authorities. Her parents, however, thought that it was more vital for their daughter to acquire financial aid for college.
“When we filed our application together, they told me, ‘This is for you, Janet. “This is for future generations, and I hope we remain together,” she remarked.
Alondra, a graduate of University High School Charter in Los Angeles, says she is stressed because the majority of her family lacks permanent legal status. Alondra also asked to use only her first name to protect her family from deportation. Alondra claimed she astonished her family when she told them about the potential risk if they applied. However, a counselor in the One Voice Scholars Program, which works with low-income, first-generation kids, pointed out that Alondra’s parents already provide personal information to the federal government when they file taxes.
“So, it’s like we already know that my parents are already in the system, so we just kind of hope that me submitting my FAFSA isn’t adding on to that risk,” Alondra told me.
According to Alison De Lucca, executive director of the Southern California College Access Network, some mixed-status adolescents with elder siblings may have already submitted their information with the United States Department of Education. She stated that while seeking for financial aid, each family must weigh the advantages and disadvantages. Mixed-status families are also likely to share information with the state and federal governments when they file taxes, obtain a driver’s license, or change their immigration status.
Angela, a Los Angeles County High School of the Arts alumna who asked to be identified only by her first name owing to her family’s mixed legal status, said she began debating whether to apply for federal student aid during her sophomore year. Her parents were still in the process of getting citizenship and were unsure whether they would have it in time for Angela’s financial aid application.
“They just really wanted me to be able to go (to college) for as cheap as possible,” said Angela.
