As widespread fears of deportation sweep the state, the number of undocumented immigrant students in California applying for college financial aid has dropped more than 40 percent, new data shows.

“We know the fear is real, and we see it in the numbers,” said Assemblyman Jose Medina, D-Riverside, who heads the Assembly’s higher education committee, on Wednesday.

With the state’s financial aid deadline approaching, some politicians and advocates now worry that the decision to skip out on tuition aid will send many of the state’s young, educated immigrants back into the shadows, unable to attend college or to launch careers.

Under the California Dream Act, undocumented students brought to the U.S. as children — commonly known as “Dreamers” — are eligible for in-state tuition and certain forms of financial aid while they are enrolled in state colleges and universities. But with a new federal administration sharply clamping down on illegal immigration in its first month, thousands of students have become reluctant to share personal information with the government, fearing deportation, according to educators and state political leaders.

As of last Friday, the California Student Aid commission, which receives applications from students, had only 19,768 new and renewed Dream Act applications compared to 34,162 during the same period last year, a drop of 42 percent.

That includes just 8,600 new applications from high school seniors compared to 13,200 at the same time last year, according to data provided by the commission. The priority financial aid deadline for most colleges and universities is March 2.

“The numbers are really, really low,” said Patti Colston, a spokeswoman for the commission.

Colston said the only federal agency that receives some student data is the Selective Service System, which is voluntary for applicants interested in joining the military. The commission has not received other requests from the federal government for student data, she said, and does not plan to share it.​

“This is a state program funded by state funds,” she said. “That’s the assumption we’re operating under.”

A federal official told this newspaper that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement “would not access (California Dream Act data) for administrative immigration enforcement purposes.”

The agency would only request that type of data in the event that officials with the Department of Homeland Security were to conduct a criminal investigation, in which case they would need a court-issued warrant to access any student information, the official said.

Norma Mendoza, a graduate student at Sacramento State who immigrated to San Jose with her family when she was 10 months old, said the Dream Act made it possible to get her undergraduate degree in English and continue her graduate education in public policy and administration.

“That is what allowed me to pursue my education,” Mendoza said at a joint press conference Wednesday with Medina and other political leaders. “My career goals, I wouldn’t be able to accomplish them if it wasn’t for the financial support that I have received from California. Of course, my hopes are that I’ll be able to continue contributing back into the economy of our state and to the social fabric that makes this state a wonderful one to live in.”

The Trump administration this week announced new deportation regulations in which anyone in the country illegally who is charged with any offense or is suspected of committing a crime could be a target for deportation. The measures drastically expand the number of undocumented immigrants vulnerable to deportation.

With less than 10 days before the March 2 deadline, only about 42 percent of seniors at Oakland Unified School District have applied for financial aid through either the federal Free Application for Federal Student Aid or the California Dream Act, compared to last year, when 78 percent had applied by the deadline, said Monica Montenegro, executive director of East Bay Consortium’s California Student Opportunity and Access Program, which operates Cash for College workshops throughout Contra Costa and Alameda counties.

And although there are always procrastinators who turn in applications at the last minute, the numbers are still troubling, even with about 10 days left in the filing period, according to Montenegro.

A lot of eligible students have incorrectly linked the state’s Dream Act to DACA, she said, a federal program that grants Dreamers work permits and temporary relief from deportation. The Trump administration has yet to make a decision on whether to continue the DACA program, which has granted an estimated 750,000 Dreamers a reprieve since its inception in 2012.

“The California Dream Act for undocumented students is here to stay and is the law in California,” Montenegro said. “We’re encouraging students to apply and we are telling them that the best thing for them to do is stay in college, whether they are undocumented or not. We’re fortunate to live in a state where the governor and others are committed to helping all students, regardless of their immigration status.”

More than 20,000 California students have received state aid under the Dream Act since it took effect in 2013, according to Medina’s staff. The state became one of the first to provide undocumented students who attended California high schools in-state tuition rates.

In a university document declaring support for undocumented students, the University of California said it will not release a student’s immigration status or other confidential records to federal agencies without the student’s permission or without a warrant, a subpoena or a court order.

Toni Molle, a spokesperson for California State University’s Office of the Chancellor, said it protects the privacy of student education records under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

“To date, there have been no requests from federal officials and we have no reason to believe the federal government will seek this information,” Molle said in a statement.

State officials have vowed to steadfastly protect immigrant communities, a promise that has pitted California against President Trump.

In a press conference at the state Capitol Wednesday, Medina and other Democrats urged young undocumented Californians to “stay out of the shadows” and pursue their college dreams, assuring them and their families that the Cal Grant program has nothing to do with the federal government.

Many students are doing just that.

At Sequoia High School in Redwood City, applications for the Dream Act haven’t declined, teacher Jane Slater said. She runs a support class for first-generation students — a program known as AVID — in which students fill out various college-related applications in class. Nearly all 50 seniors in the class are planning on going to college and have applied for financial aid, she said.

In the San Mateo Union High School District, leaders and teachers are encouraging students to apply for college and financial aid regardless of their status.

“We are trying to reassure students that it’s OK to create a record of themselves,” district spokeswoman Sheri Costa-Batis said. “We’re hoping that encourages them to apply for Dream Act.”

Staff writers Joyce Tsai and Sharon Noguchi contributed to this report.