Enacting resilience at multiple levels during the COVID-19 pandemic: exploring communication theory of resilience for US undocumented college students

During the COVID-19 pandemic, college students faced a number of stressors that threatened their health and well-being. Undocumented college students faced similar stressors and additional ones that were unique to their immigration status. Drawing from communication theory of resilience, we conducted 30 semi-structured interviews with Mexican-origin undocumented college students in California. Our findings extended past research on the communication theory of resilience by identifying triggers that motivated undocumented students to enact resilience at multiple levels. Undocumented students reported (a) individual, interpersonal, institutional, and policy-level constraints that constantly threatened their health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic; (b) how they enacted resilience at those multiple levels; and (c) how their undocumented status was a source of stress but also a source of empowerment.