Fewer Immigrant Families Submitting FAFSAs in California
Katherine Knott
May 12, 2026
The drop in applications is raising alarms among California advocacy groups about a potential “college access crisis.”
California is seeing a steep decline in federal student aid applications from students whose parents aren’t U.S. citizens.
The California Student Aid Commission presented data last week showing that Free Application for Federal Student Aid submissions from this group, commonly referred to as mixed status, are down by 3,000, or 8 percent compared to the previous year. Applications for the California DREAM Act, which allows eligible undocumented students to receive state aid, are down by 41 percent. Over all, FAFSA applications in the Golden State are up 8 percent, according to federal data.
