Silver, RachelAvril, Vernetta2026-03-102026-03-102025-12-032026-03-10https://hdl.handle.net/10315/43594This thesis examines how Canadian immigration and postsecondary education policies shape the access, experiences, and wellbeing of Sanctuary Scholars – students with precarious immigration status in Ontario. Using critical autoethnography, memory work, and constructivist grounded theory, I analyze institutional gatekeeping, emotional and psychological impacts, and the structural contradictions between diversity rhetoric and practice. Findings highlight the barriers Sanctuary Scholars face, along with the resilience, strategies, and community support they mobilize to navigate postsecondary education. The study concludes with policy and institutional recommendations to improve equity, advising, and financial accessibility, emphasizing the need for systemic change to support precarious-status students in Canadian higher education.Author owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.EducationSociologyElectronic Thesis or Dissertation2026-03-10Sanctuary Scholars and Sanctuary StudentsSanctuary ScholarsSanctuary StudentsPrecarious immigration statusEducational equityPost-secondary education accessAutoethnographyConstructivist grounded theoryInstitutional gatekeepingPolicy and structural barriersPolicy barriersStrctural barriersDEI rhetoric vs practiceResilience and agencyUndocumented students