Apoyo Sacrificial, Sacrificial Support: How Undocumented Latinx Parents Get Their Children to College

Apoyo Sacrificial explores the experiences of undocumented Latinx parents as they support and guide their children’s pathways to higher education, and how their precarious immigration status impacts this support. In addition to analyzing the various understandings, interactions, and relationships undocumented Latinx parents develop with different education entities, including secondary schools and colleges and universities, the book also examines these in relation to the various social, political, and economic factors that shape parents’ engagement with their children’s education. Cuevas illuminates how the parents in her study engaged in supportive behaviors similar to those of middle- and upper-class families despite the barriers they faced, such as low-income households, undocumented legal status, and single parenting. Providing an alternative view of parental engagement and access to higher education, Apoyo Sacrificial will help educators truly meet the needs of marginalized students and communities.

Book Features:

• Illustrates the often unobserved and unappreciated supportive strategies employed by undocumented Latinx parents.
• Highlights in-depth qualitative interviews that center the voices and perspectives of parents.
• Shows how an undocumented immigration status is a unique barrier that shapes how families interact with education entities.
• Depicts the range of supportive behaviors undocumented Latinx parents engage in to ensure their children’s success, including access to higher education.
• Demonstrates how the parents of first-generation Latinx students play a critical role in their success, even after they matriculate to college.

Stephany Cuevas is an assistant professor of education in the Attallah College of Educational Studies at Chapman University, where she teaches in the Integrated Educational Studies (IES) program. Dr. Cuevas served as a college advisor in Oakland Unified School District and as the lead seminar instructor for the UC Berkeley Summer Bridge Program.