Published 10:39 AM EDT Aug 24, 2020
DACA allows such migrants (often referred to as 'dreamers,' after the Dream Act, which failed to pass Congress) to stay in the U.S. As long as they arrived in the country when they were 15 years. Last week a federal court ordered the Trump administration to take new applicants for the DACA program, which protects young immigrants without legal status who arrived as children and was upheld.
My family and I came to this country from Ecuador when I was 13 in 1998. We fled poverty as Ecuador was in the middle of an economic and political crisis. Without jobs, our family had almost nothing to pay for school and food. Both my parents dreamed of going to college, but came from poor, working-class backgrounds. It was not going to happen.
When we moved to New York, it was their dream for their children to have not only food and shelter but also education. This was my dream, too.
One day, I met with our college counselor and one of the first questions she asked me was whether I had a Social Security number or a green card, to which I responded, no.
Then she asked me whether my parents had them. My response was, again, no. She told me that I couldn’t go to college because I was undocumented and that she couldn’t help me. She then said, 'next!', calling over the next student
Canon service mode tool version 1.050 for mac. I was heartbroken.
My future got a second chance
I went home crying and shared the news with my mom. After dropping my book bag on the floor, I threw myself in bed and kept crying. But my mom said if I didn’t go back to school and get help from someone else, then she would come to school herself. As a teenager, I was mortified.
One of my English-as-a-second-language teachers supported me and encouraged me to apply for the City University of New York (CUNY), which after 9/11 eliminated in-state tuition for undocumented students. I also found community organizations and labor unions who were advocating for students like me. I was amazed to read in the local newspapers that undocumented students were fasting to pressure state legislators and the governor to pass a law changing this policy.
Read the Women of the Century interview with USA TODAY: Cristina Jiménez Moreta helped get DACA, now she helps young immigrants find their voice Free naruto episodes english dubbed.
In 2002, a few weeks before my first semester in college, New York Gov. George Pataki signed a new law allowing in-state tuition for students regardless of immigration status. I cried of happiness that I would be able to go to college.
Even though I had in-state tuition, I couldn’t get financial aid. Sap software full version with crack. So my mom took on a second job at a nail salon, in addition to cleaning houses, and I sold Avon and cleaned houses.
In those years, I got involved with two deportation defense cases — Kamal Essaheb in New York and Marie Gonzalez in Missouri. They got caught up in the post-9/11 immigration enforcement regime. We amplified their stories in the media, pushed members of Congress to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and mobilized community members to call ICE and members of Congress. Marie and Kamal were able to stay, but it was a bittersweet because Marie’s parents were deported.
Deportation: A terrible realization
In 2006, one of my greatest fears became a reality. I was awakened by a call in the early morning and learned that Walter, my close friend, was in a detention camp and would be deported.
I felt overwhelmed by the possibility that I may not see Walter again. Walter was from Guatemala and came to this country with his family when he was 11 years old. Walter was the first undocumented student I met in college. In awe, I admired how he courageously spoke in public about being undocumented. I remembered Walter helping me to figure out how to get a cellphone as an undocumented person and how to navigate finding jobs. We became really close and together started an effort to organizing undocumented students in New York.
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Within a 100 mile radius of U.S. borders, Customs and Border Patrol has the power to ask anyone about their immigration status. Walter was on an Amtrak train traveling from New York to Chicago, and border agents went into cars racially profiling men of color. Walter was handcuffed and detained.
After five days of engaging with many senators, urging them to place phone calls to ICE arguing that he should have legal representation and be allowed to make a case that he should stay, we got Walter out. That experience was a turning point.
Historic change and a bright future
It was this experience that led me to commit to organizing immigrant youth and families to ensure that all immigrants, regardless of immigration status, can live freely.
Walter and I and other undocumented young people co-founded United We Dream in 2008. Our organizing and advocacy led to the historic victory of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which we campaigned and advocated for by leading rallies, marches, storytelling and civil disobedience. DACA protects 650,000 young people from deportation, like my brother Jonathan.
But this administration has attempted to dismantle DACA and implemented policies that have separated thousands of children from their parents, put kids in cages, deported people en masse.
I’m sure you can hear in my story how much policies voted on by decision-makers and elected officials have a direct impact on our lives. Which is why I’m so passionate about this election. After more than 20 years in this country, Walter and I became citizens last year and are voting in our first presidential election.
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Walter and I not only became committed to building a movement for immigrant justice; we also fell in love and are committed to each other.
https://corel-aftershot-pro-3-6-0.peatix.com. This November, I’ll cast my vote to defend my immigrantparents, my brother who has DACA, and millions of people impacted by deportation, detention and family separation.
Cristina Jiménez Moreta is co-founder of United We Dream, a 2017 MacArthur Fellow and one of USA TODAY's Women of the Century. Follow her on Twitter: @CrisAlexJimenez
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Published 10:39 AM EDT Aug 24, 2020