Cindy Barahona

Cindy Barahona is a PhD candidate in Sociology at Texas A&M University. Her research focuses on the post-college experiences of recently graduated undocumented students, both with and without DACA, as they navigate the complexities of transitioning out of higher education. Drawing on the concepts of legal violence and the transition to illegality, her dissertation examines how structural and symbolic violence perpetuates a delayed transition to illegality for this population. Her dissertation uses a Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach and a semi-structured interview methodology, utilizing longitudinal data collected through three waves of interviews conducted between 2021 and 2023. Her dissertation will offer insights into the hurdles faced by undocumented graduates, including the barriers to accessing opportunities post-college and the internalized stigmas they navigate in college and immediately after graduating from their institutions of higher education. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the intersection between legal violence, education, and undocumented status, offering a nuanced perspective on the challenges and opportunities faced by undocumented students as they transition out of higher education and into broader society.