This article examines the experiences of selected undocumented college-aged (UCA) students attending a community and four year college, and the trauma they live on a daily basis. A conceptual framework is provided for examining the tensions experienced by undocumented students. The framework is suggested as a tool to analyze the explicit and implicit lived spaces of UCA Latino students living in the United States. Using qualitative mixed methods, as an exploratory study, undocumented college students identified four themes that uncover the journey they travel in their desire to improve their life possibilities and negotiate access to educational and societal institutions. (Contains 1 figure.)