Structural Barriers for Migrant Families, Public Schools, and their Fight for Opportunity

A Program is Helping Migrant Children Acclimate to School and Explore the Arts

Educational equity in the United States remains an unfulfilled promise, particularly for migrant and refugee families navigating unfamiliar systems. As students engaged with the Chicago Education Advocacy Cooperative (ChiEAC) recently discovered through direct service and community engagement, access to public education is often shaped not by willingness or merit, but by legal status, language ability, and structural design.

“I saw how hard it is for migrant and refugee families to have the same access and opportunities as us without community programs like ChiEAC,” one student shared.

Her words reflect a growing awareness that opportunity is not equally distributed, and that community-based interventions remain essential for leveling the playing field. From a conflict theory perspective, this illustrates how institutions can reproduce inequality unless intentional support systems intervene.

Other students noted how the educational system can be deeply disorienting to families who are unfamiliar with it. “Some families felt lost trying to enroll their kids in schools or understand special education services,” one young woman explained.

Another student emphasized, “The process to enroll in CPS is confusing and traumatic…