Date of Graduation
Fall 12-2021
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
College/School
School of Education
Department/Program
International and Multicultural Education (IME)
First Advisor
Luz Navarrette García, EdD
Abstract
This study used statistical analysis of enrollment records for ESL programs at community colleges throughout California from 2015-2019 to determine whether adult immigrants’ participation in public ESL programs was reduced under President Donald Trump. Immigrant families’ lesser use of public education services and means-tested federal benefits has been widely documented in the wake of Trump’s expansion of the public charge rule, which counted immigrants’ use of a wider array of public benefits against their case for residency in the United States than had any previous iteration of the rule. Failing the public charge test can block an immigrant’s entry into the country or even result in their deportation if the federal government determines that they are poor enough to be likely to depend on public monies for their subsistence, thus labeling them a “public charge.” Trump’s expansion of the public charge test resulted in mass chilling effects, whereby eligible immigrants avoided all kinds of public and community services out of fear of adverse immigration consequences, such as family separation. Statistical analysis of adult immigrants’ participation in community college ESL programs found that there was no significant chill in enrollment program-wide; however, three subcategories of students did display significant chilling in 2016 and 2018. Hispanic ESL students; ESL students of color, more generally; and low-income ESL students all displayed significant chilling in these years, mirroring previous findings that these specific groups were more likely than others to avoid public services due to public charge fears.
Recommended Citation
Eckert, Allison M., "Collateral Damage: How Expanding Public Charge Policy Influences Adult ESL Enrollment" (2021). Master's Theses. 1395.
https://repository.usfca.edu/thes/1395
Spreadsheet of raw ESL and non-ESL enrollment data used in analysis
Included in
Adult and Continuing Education Commons, American Politics Commons, Anthropological Linguistics and Sociolinguistics Commons, Applied Linguistics Commons, Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Immigration Law Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Language and Literacy Education Commons, Law and Society Commons, Policy History, Theory, and Methods Commons, Public Policy Commons, Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education Commons, Social Justice Commons, Social Welfare Commons, Social Welfare Law Commons
