First page of the report with a pie chart on
Immigrant Inclusion & Racial Justice

June 2012

By Veronica Terriquez, Assistant Professor of Sociology and the University of Southern California, and Caitlin Patler, Ph.D. Candidate in Sociology at the University of California Los Angeles

Please note: reports dated earlier than June 2020 were published under our previous names: the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) or the USC Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration (CSII).

Written by USC’s Veronica Terriquez and UCLA’s Caitlin Patler, Aspiring Americans: Undocumented Youth Leaders in California posited that among the 1.1 million undocumented children and young adults in Los Angeles, those involved in immigrant youth organizations have a great inclination towards civic leadership.

The report collected data from 410 undocumented California youth who participated in immigrant youth organizations, 84% of whom had arrived in the United States before the age of 12. While they face higher barriers to success relative to the general populations, the report concluded that these kids have higher educational expectations and feel more empowered to make a difference. It recommended protecting access to-state tuition, institutionalizing tuition assistance, and creating pathways to citizenship for them.

Aspiring Americans is part of the California Young Adult Study and produced by Pathways to Postsecondary Success Project at UC ACCORD and the USC Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration.

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Aspiring Americans: Undocumented Youth Leaders in California

Read our other publications by research area

    Immigrant Integration & Racial Justice

    Our work on immigrant integration and racial justice brings together three emphases: scholarship that draws on academic theory and rigorous research, data that provides information structured to highlight the process of immigrant integration over time, and engagement that seeks to create new dialogues with government, community organizers, business and civic leaders, immigrants and the voting public to advance immigrant integration and racial equity.

    Economic Inclusion & Climate Equity

    In the area of economic inclusion, we at ERI advance academic theory and practical applications linking economic growth, environmental quality, and civic health with bridging of racial and other gaps; produce accessible and actionable data and analysis through the data tools; and establish research partnerships to deepen and advance the dialogue, planning, and actions around racial equity, environmental justice, and the built environment.

    Social Movements & Governing Power

    ERI’s work in the area of governing power includes: conducting cross-disciplinary studies of today’s social movements, supporting learning and strategizing efforts to advance dialogues among organizers, funders, intermediaries, evaluators, and academics, and developing research-based social change frameworks and tools to inform—and be informed by—real-world, real-time efforts towards a vision of deep change.

    Publications Directory

    In 2020, the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) and the USC Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration (CSII) merged to form the USC Equity Research Institute (ERI).

    The full list of publications published under our previous and current names can be found in our publications directory.

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