{"id":80639,"date":"2026-05-07T19:42:50","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T02:42:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=80639"},"modified":"2026-05-07T19:42:50","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T02:42:50","slug":"california-student-aid-commission-sounds-alarm-over-steep-decline-in-financial-aid-applications-among-immigrant-and-mixed-status-families","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=80639","title":{"rendered":"California Student Aid Commission Sounds Alarm Over Steep Decline in Financial Aid Applications Among Immigrant and Mixed-Status Families"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sacramento, Calif. May 7, 2026<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 \u00a0During a\u00a0media roundtable today<\/a>, the California Student Aid Commission, along with students and advocates, issued an urgent call to action following new data revealing a significant decline in California Dream Act Application (CADAA) and Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion rates among undocumented students and mixed-status families.<\/p>\n

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As California faces a growing college access crisis, CSAC officials and student leaders highlighted a troubling trend: students are increasingly weighing their educational aspirations against fears for their family’s safety amid heightened immigration enforcement and federal uncertainty.<\/p>\n

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A Crisis of Safety and Access<\/strong><\/p>\n

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New data presented by CSAC shows that FAFSA completion among first-time applicants from mixed-status families declined by over\u00a03,000 students<\/strong>. Similarly, CADAA completions for mixed-status families dropped by\u00a0910 students<\/strong>\u00a0over the past year.<\/p>\n

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“Today\u2019s conversation is about urgency,” said\u00a0Dr. Daisy Gonzales, Executive Director of the California Student Aid Commission<\/strong>. “We are seeing a sharp and significant withdrawal from financial aid systems. When students have to choose between their future and their family\u2019s safety, we are facing a college access crisis that further deepens inequities for an entire generation of Californians. We need state agencies, K-12 educators, and policy leaders to come together and share a uniform message: the California Dream Act Application is safe and we will all work together to ensure your data remains secure.”<\/p>\n

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The Student Perspective: Navigating Fear and Aspiration<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Behind the data are thousands of California students grappling with the reality of being “immigration-impacted.” During the briefing, student leaders shared how the current political climate and misinformation regarding data privacy have created a “chilling effect” on campus.<\/p>\n

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\u201cStudents are having to pick between the security of their family and their ability to attain a higher education,\u201d said\u00a0Esther Mejia, a student at the University of California, Riverside<\/strong>. \u201cComing from a mixed-status family, there is an immense emotional toll these conversations and decisions take on us as students. I am thankful that we have the option to complete the CADAA, which gives us the security of knowing our information is safe and we will be receiving some financial aid.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Policy Path Forward: Restoring Trust<\/strong><\/p>\n

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CSAC underscored that robust legal protections are currently in place to safeguard student data under the\u00a0Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)<\/strong>,\u00a0SB 54<\/strong>, and\u00a0AB 21<\/strong>. However, advocates argue that legislative clarity is needed to bridge the gap between policy and community trust.<\/p>\n

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CSAC is advocating for the\u00a0CADAA as an Option<\/strong>\u00a0trailer bill language to simplify the process and reassure families that their data is protected.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSupporting CADAA as an option simply means empowering students and families to make the best choice for them,\u201d said\u00a0Marcos Montes, Policy Director for the Southern California College Attainment Network<\/strong>. \u201cRight now, we are losing students from immigrant origins who are continuing to weigh whether it is safe for them and their families to complete the FAFSA. Clarifying that they have the CADAA as an option can help ensure we do not lose out on a generation of students accessing higher education.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Cal State Student Association (CSSA) strongly supports the effort to ensure that all students – regardless of their background or federal aid eligibility – can access the financial resources they need to pursue higher education, said\u00a0Nikki Majidi, Vice President of Legislative Affairs for the Cal State Student Association<\/strong>. \u201cToo many students face unnecessary administrative barriers when applying for financial aid, and those barriers can ultimately determine whether someone is able to stay in school or not. This proposal represents a critical step toward equity by streamlining CADAA process and ensuring that eligible students can seamlessly access state-based financial aid.\u201d<\/p>\n

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By cutting down on confusion and strengthening coordination, the state can better serve students from underserved and immigrant communities who are hit hardest by financial barriers. Getting to college should not require navigating a complicated system \u2014 it should depend on a student\u2019s goal and commitment.<\/p>\n

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Coordinated Action Required<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The decline is most severe in community college districts already facing affordability pressures and large immigrant populations. Dr. Gonzales emphasized that resources alone are not enough if students receive information too late or from sources they do not trust.<\/p>\n

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“This is the moment for coordinated action,”\u00a0Dr. Gonzales<\/strong>\u00a0continued. “We need state agencies, K-12 systems, and policymakers aligned around the same message: CADAA is safe, college is still possible, and California is not walking away from immigrant students.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sacramento, Calif. May 7, 2026\u00a0\u2014 \u00a0During...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-80639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ca-local","category-education"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=80639"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80639\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80640,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80639\/revisions\/80640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=80639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=80639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=80639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}