Basic-needs crisis pushes Latino students to the brink of leaving college

By Stacy Mantle
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Latino students are enrolling in college in growing numbers, but food costs, unstable housing and new limits on federal assistance could prevent many from completing the degrees needed to enter high-demand professions, according to a new UnidosUS report.

The report, “Unmet Needs, Unfinished Degrees,” draws on a 2024 survey of 3,000 current and recently graduated Latino undergraduates, followed by focus groups with 18 students from across the country.

Researchers found nearly two-thirds of Latino students considered leaving college, while one-third took a leave at some point. About 85% reported difficulty obtaining affordable, healthy food.

Those findings matter beyond individual campuses, speakers said during an Aug. 25 UnidosUS webinar examining the report. Latinos  account for about one in five college students nationally and their share of the student population is expected to grow as overall college enrollment levels off or declines.

More than 50,000 Latino students are enrolled as undergraduates at Arizona's three public universities, according to the universities' most recent demographic data. Latino students account for roughly one-quarter of undergraduate enrollment at ASU, NAU and U of A. 

“We found that whether it’s access to affordable food and housing, reliable transportation, health care or other essential supports, Latino students are telling us that they’re not only facing a single barrier in isolation, they’re having to navigate multiple overlapping pressures that compound and intensify one upon another,” said Magin Sanchez, senior higher education policy analyst for UnidosUS and lead author of the report. 

National surveys cited during the discussion indicate about half of Latino students experience housing insecurity and more than 40% experience food insecurity. Mental health concerns, transportation costs, work schedules and caregiving obligations can further threaten students’ ability to remain enrolled.

The findings challenge the conventional definition of college affordability, Sanchez said. Tuition is only part of the calculation for students who must also pay for rent, food, transportation, health care, child care and other necessities.

“As one student told us, it’s either food or school,” Sanchez said.

Workforce implications

About 3.8 million Latino students are enrolled in postsecondary education, representing roughly 21.5% of the nation’s college population, according to UnidosUS. That figure is projected to reach approximately 4.5 million by 2030.

U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, said improving Latino students’ completion rates should be viewed as both an equity issue and an economic priority.

“The college-going population is not just the future workforce of America, but the future economic leadership of America,” Padilla said. “It’s not just an issue of fairness, an issue of what’s morally right or wrong. It’s in our national economic interest.”

Six years after entering college in 2018, 50% of Latino students  completed a degree, compared with 61% of students overall and 69% of white students, according to UnidosUS higher-education data.

The completion gap could affect the supply of workers in nursing, medicine, education, mental health, law and social work — professions that often require graduate or professional degrees.

That concern has intensified following the adoption of the federal budget reconciliation law commonly called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The law, signed in July 2025, changed food and health assistance programs and placed new limits on federal borrowing for graduate students, professional students and parents.

Beginning in July 2026, new graduate borrowers generally face a federal loan limit of $20,500 annually and $100,000 in total. Professional students face a $50,000 annual limit and a $200,000 aggregate limit. The law also phases out new Graduate PLUS loans, which previously allowed students to borrow up to their cost of attendance.

The U.S. Department of Education argues the limits will discourage excessive borrowing and pressure colleges to lower the cost of graduate programs. Student advocates counter that students in expensive programs may instead turn to private loans, which generally lack federal repayment protections, or abandon career plans altogether.

Mark Huelsman, director of policy and advocacy at Temple University’s Hope Center for Student Basic Needs, said the restrictions could be especially difficult for working students and those entering lower-paid public-service professions.

“The students who work — that’s 80% of Latino students — have less access to financial aid,” Huelsman said. “We’ve built a system that penalizes students for going part time, that penalizes students for doing what they need to do because we don’t provide them the necessary support.”

The law also reduced projected federal spending on SNAP, Medicaid and Affordable Care Act coverage. Huelsman said those changes will reach campuses because some students rely on the programs for food and health care.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated the broader law would reduce federal direct spending by approximately $1.1 trillion over a decade while reducing federal revenue by about $4.5 trillion, producing a projected $3.4 trillion increase in the deficit through 2034.

When one emergency changes everything

Basic-needs insecurity is not always visible, speakers said. A family detention, job loss, medical bill or car repair can abruptly transform a student’s financial circumstances.

Karla Hernandez-Mats, chair of Educators We Stand, described the experience of Wendy Domingo, an 18-year-old Florida student whose parents were detained after Border Patrol stopped the family’s minivan.

Domingo had graduated from high school and planned to attend college. Hernandez-Mats said she instead became responsible for supporting her younger siblings and took multiple jobs after the detention.

“What you can’t see is the before and after Wendy,” Hernandez-Mats said. “Before that moment, Wendy was an 18-year-old that was going to go to college. She was ready. Now her life was completely turned upside down.”

Hernandez-Mats said the case illustrates how immigration enforcement and family separation can become education issues by forcing students to choose between their degrees and their families’ immediate survival.

Building support around students

Speakers called for colleges to replace fragmented services with coordinated, wraparound support systems. Those models include centralized basic-needs centers, benefits navigators, food assistance, transportation help, mental health care, emergency grants and help appealing financial aid decisions after a family’s circumstances change.

Small emergency grants can be effective when a car repair, utility bill or medical expense might otherwise force a student to leave school, Huelsman said.

Padilla pointed to his proposed Basic Assistance for Students in College Act, or BASIC Act, which would provide grants to states and institutions developing basic-needs programs. His proposed HERE Act would support partnerships between Hispanic-serving institutions and school districts with significant Latino enrollment.

The central challenge, Sanchez said, is recognizing that academic support alone cannot keep students enrolled when their most immediate needs remain unmet.

“Latino students and their families have done everything we’ve asked them to do,” Sanchez said. “They’re working hard. They’re studying. They’re supporting their families. They’re investing in themselves.”

“It’s now time for policymakers and higher education leaders to do the work of believing in them.”

Editor’s note:   A grant from the Arizona Local News Foundation made this story possible. The foundation awarded 15 newsrooms to pay for solutions-focused education reporters for two years. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.

Stacy Mantle
Education Solutions Reporter

smantle@iniusa.org

Meet Stacy
Stacy Mantle is joining the team at Independent Newsmedia, Inc. as an Education Solutions journalist, thanks to a grant from the Arizona Community Collaborative. She has a long history in education that ranges from teaching junior high and middle school to developing curriculum and standards-based assessments.

Community: A longtime advocate for animal welfare, Stacy is deeply involved in rescue efforts and volunteers with several nonprofit organizations.

Random Fact: Once upon a time, she shared her home with a pet coyote and two wolf hybrids. The experiences were wild enough to become the subject of her first book!

Education: She holds a BA in English with a minor in Political Science, a Post-baccalaureate in Secondary Education, and an MBA with a emphasis on Marketing.

Hobbies: In her spare time, Stacy writes fast-paced urban fantasy novels, crafts small-batch artisan soap, and is always up for hiking or off-roading through the Arizona wilderness with her husband of 23 years.