Documentation Status and Psychological Distress Among New York City Community College Students Ahmed Alif Columbia University and New York University Bryan S. Nelson New York University and Harvard University Ana Stefancic Columbia University Riya Ahmed Columbia University Sumie Okazaki New York University Objective: This research study examined how psychological distress, self-esteem, and academic perfor- mance differ across at-risk, temporary, and stable immigration statuses and whether fear of one’s own deportation and that of family members is associated with psychological distress. Method: We surveyed 150 community college students (51% female; M age = 22.7, SD age = 2.4) with 3 types of immigration statuses: stable (citizen), temporary (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals [DACA] and visa), and at-risk of deportation (undocumented). One-way analyses of covariance examined whether fear of deportation, psychological distress, self-esteem, and academic performance varied across immigration statuses. Regression analyses examined the associations among fear of deportation for self and for family members, depression, and isolation and alienation. Results: Participants with at risk and temporary statuses reported higher fear of deportation for self, fear of family members being deported, psycholog- ical distress, and higher self-esteem than those with stable status. Academic performance did not differ across immigration statuses. Within the temporary status, DACA students experienced higher anxiety, isolation, and alienation than other temporary status students. Fear of deportation for self and family members predicted depression and isolation and alienation. Both regression analyses controlled for age, sex, region of origin, hours of work, hours of sleep, and socializing per day. Conclusion: The study provides new insights into how immigration status influences the psychological well-being of community college students and introduces a quantifiable framework to better understand the construct of fear of deportation. Keywords: undocumented, immigration, DACA, mental health, academic performance Approximately 65,000 undocumented immigrants graduate from high school each year in the United States, but only 20% pursue higher education (Mendoza, 2013), in comparison to almost 70% of the general population. Even when successfully enrolled, undocumented college students have exhibited psychological dis- tress, such as depression (Gonzales, Suárez-Orozco, & Dedios- Sanguineti, 2013). Some studies have also shown that shame and guilt of having an undocumented immigration status is associated with isolation and alienation, as well as negative academic perfor- mance (Kalil, Yoshikawa, & Ziol-Guest, 2014; Suárez-Orozco et al., 2015). Many undocumented students drop out of college and live their lives excluded from the privileges of pursuing a higher education (Suárez-Orozco et al., 2015). Given the potential for negative outcomes among those who are undocumented, it is imperative to explore both the factors that place these students at risk, as well those that may foster resilience This article was published Online First May 2, 2019. Ahmed Alif, Department of Social Work, Columbia University, and Department of Applied Psychology, New York University; Bryan S. Nel- son, Department of Psychology, New York University, and T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Department of Biostatistics, Harvard University; Ana Stefancic, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University; Riya Ahmed, Department of Social Work, Columbia University; Sumie Oka- zaki, Department of Applied Psychology, New York University. Riya Ahmed is now at Department of Applied Psychology, New York University. This study was funded by New York University Dean’s Undergraduate Research Fund (awarded to Ahmed Alif and Bryan S. Nelson) and the New York University Steinhardt Challenge Grant (awarded to Ahmed Alif). The authors thank Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Justin Rogers-Cooper, Leslee Sumner, Eric Subillaga, An Hu, Cecilia Xu, and Jemair Lewis for their data collection and unwavering efforts for immigrant research. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Ahmed Alif, Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, 246 Greene Street, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10003. E-mail: alif.ahmed@ nyu.edu THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CORRECTED. SEE LAST PAGE This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology © 2019 American Psychological Association 2020, Vol. 26, No. 1, 11–21 1099-9809/20/$12.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000290 11