PHOENIX – Frustration over his immigration status and a feeling of hopelessness is what drove Joaquin Luna, an undocumented high school student in Texas, to end his life on November 25.

Joaquin, who had lived in the United States since he was six months old, was supposed to graduate next year from Juarez-Lincoln High School in Mission, Texas and was getting ready to attend college. He wanted to become an engineer and provide a better life for his mom.

“I’ve set up goals to become the first in my family to go to college and have fought hard to get to where I stand now,” Joaquin wrote in an application essay for a scholarship program in November.

Diyer Mendoza, Joaquin’s older brother, said that in a letter Joaquin left to his family before committing suicide, he revealed he was worried about his immigration status and didn’t foresee a bright future, New American Media reported.

“Joaquin’s biggest worry became that after all those years in college, he would end up without a job,” he said. “He had a dream, the American Dream, but he felt his immigration status prevented him from reaching it.”

Joaquin’s case is example of the growing number of young undocumented immigrants who are entering adulthood and are becoming discouraged when they realize their immigration status limits their opportunities, researchers say.

William Perez, who has published several books looking into the lives of undocumented youth and is a professor at Claremont Graduate University in California, said many young undocumented immigrants, like Joaquin, have been counting on the DREAM Act, a legislation that would create a path to legalization for undocumented youth who were brought to the U.S. as children.

The legislation, which is supported by 70 percent of Americans, came close to becoming a reality on December 2010 when it passed in the House of Representatives but was five votes short of passing in the Senate. It’s defeat and the recent political shift in Congress has made the DREAM Act’s future uncertain, leaving many young undocumented immigrants to lose hope of being able to pursue their education and careers, Perez said.

“Not only is a lack of an immigration reform and the DREAM Act a loss of talent, is keeping students in the shadows and is creating a group of second class citizens, it’s also getting to a point where people are being pushed to the brink of mental despair, and we are losing lives,” he said.

Although there’s no research to prove whether suicide rates are higher for undocumented youth, Perez said high levels of anxiety and depression are common among young undocumented immigrants, especially those who grow up in mixed immigration status families.

The anxiety and depression, he said, stem from additional sources of stress that undocumented youth experience, including worries about being deported, having their families deported, having limited opportunities, and finding ways to pay high costs of tuition without having access to financial aid in some cases.

“Typically, the sources of stress for most people are money, school, work, relationships, and health,” Perez said. “Undocumented students have the same sources of stress that everybody has, but their immigration status adds to that amount of stress they face everyday.”

Roberto Gonzales, an assistant professor at the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration, recently completed a study based on nearly 5 years of research that looks into the experiences of undocumented young immigrants who have lived in the United States since they were children. In his years of research, Gonzales said he found that most undocumented students don’t find out about their immigration status until they are close to 16 years old.

“They go through the K-12 education system having American-born friends and speaking English with much greater fluency than that of their parents,” he said. “They achieve levels of education that far surpass that of their parents, and they visualize their future in ways that look different from their parents and more like their American friends’.”

But once they reach adulthood, they begin to realize they don’t have the same opportunities as their U.S.-born peers—they can’t drive in most states, they can’t work and they can’t vote. Those who want to pursue a higher education face the prospect of not being able to afford tuition because they must pay out-of-state tuition rates and are banned from receiving financial aid in most states. Others must take on the responsibility of providing for their families, which leads many to drop out of college, Gonzales found in his research.

“Seeing their friends and, in some cases, their own siblings going onto their dream schools, starting their careers and moving forward with their lives while they are stuck in the same position causes many young undocumented immigrants to really feel frustrated and depressed,” Gonzales said.

Many high school guidance counselors and mental health care providers are not aware of the stress undocumented young immigrants face and sometimes don’t know what resources are available for them. Gonzales said he attributes that to the lack of awareness and research looking into the emotional and mental health of the undocumented youth.

But the rapidly growing DREAM Act movement has led to the creation of more undocumented youth groups where undocumented young immigrants are now turning to for support and guidance. Through these groups, undocumented youth feel comfortable enough to be open about their status, something that Gonzales said helps them accept and cope with the reality of being undocumented.

“The process of coming out, telling their stories and seeking help from the community is really liberating,” Gonzales said. “The young people that I’ve talked to say they feel a lot better once they tell their stories and connect to other youth who are also undocumented.”

Undocumented youth groups also serve as a place where undocumented young immigrants share resources and knowledge about the opportunities that are open to them, including scholarships, internships, and private colleges that don’t ask for a social security number.

Not all undocumented young immigrants, however, are getting the support and encouragement they need to continue their education and pursue their careers. There are some who don’t seek help because they are still afraid to speak out about their status. There are also others who live in areas where there’s a small population of undocumented immigrants and don’t have access to undocumented youth groups, Gonzales said.

Diyer Martinez, Joaquin’s brother, said he advices those who lack support to seek help, New America Media reported.

“I just hope other students in his situation speak to others about what they are feeling before taking this drastic step,” he said.