This dissertation examines how education and migration policies negatively shape access to and opportunities within post-secondary education for Latinx students in mixed-status families. To do so, I develop the concept of deficit policies, or policies that presume deficits in the targeted population and then produce those deficits. Engaging a Chicana feminist conceptual frame, this study asks: What resources and strategies do students use to access and persist in higher education? How do deficit policies exploit those resources? Drawing on educational testimonios conducted with 20 Latinx community college students from mixed-status families living in the American Southwest, I argue that deficit migration and education policies in the United States exploit the labor and resources of immigrant youth and their families while obscuring their exploitation. I demonstrate that these deficit policies make it difficult for Latinx students to access and thrive in post-secondary education. This dissertation contributes to expanding critical research methods and literature on Latinx higher education access and completion. For policy makers, this study raises considerations for crafting responsible and socially just policies. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]