Dreamers

TRIP TO THE BORDER Blog #3

BorderLinks Delegation:   Tucson to Nogales and Back

Participants:  Steve Goering, Susan Ortman Goering, John Schneider, Anne-Marie Patrie

March 11-14, 2013

The End of a Long Day One.

Scholarship A-Z

March 22, 2013

Susan

Background.

In the early evening of the 1^st day, we met with three young undocumented youth, David, Louisa, and Maria (we have changed their names). They are part of the group now referred to as “The Dreamers.” They are unauthorized immigrants who were brought here by their parents when they were children.  They have lived in the United States most of their lives; this is their home and yet they have no legal status. They also do not have meaningful homes in their country of birth since they have not lived there for many years.  In some cases, they are not even fluent in Spanish.

The Dreamers live in a sort of limbo, always fearful that they or their parents will be picked up for some reason and deported. Once they graduate from high school, most are unable to go to college.  Prop 300, signed in 2006 in Arizona, made them ineligible for the financial aid most college students depend on. Since they do not have legal residency, they cannot obtain a green card and cannot get a job. They have no future as compared to those of us who were born into privilege.   

The Dream Act, as Federal legislation, was first proposed in the Senate in 2001 and has been reintroduced several times since then. The last proposed legislation was in 2011-2012 legislative session. The Dream act would have provided 360,000-400,000 undocumented youth of good moral character and who are in school with the legal means to work, attend college, and eventually become citizens if they met specific criteria. However, it did not pass the Senate.  

In June 2012, President Obama, by Executive Order, initiated DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. DACA is not a path to citizenship, but does provide qualifying young people with temporary relief from deportation and work permits for a two year period.  In Arizona, Governor Jan Brewer issued an executive order preventing the state of Arizona from issuing driver’s licenses and public benefits to young illegal immigrants who receive deferred status and work authorization under the new program. In addition to driving privileges, Governor Brewer’s order bars illegal immigrants who qualify for deferred action from receiving state-subsidized child care, health insurance, unemployment benefits, business and professional licenses, and government contracts.

The undocumented youth we spoke to via Borderlinks started a program called Scholarship A-Z which was founded in 2009.  It provides support and resources to the many young people who are unable to become citizens.  Scholarship A-Z does networking and fundraising, and also helps young people apply for those college scholarships that are available to the undocumented.  Scholarship A-Z has helped 900 students go to college and has lobbied for in-state tuition for students who fall under DACA.  Recently, the Pima County Community College has agreed that undocumented students will be charged resident tuition which was a major victory for these young people. They have taken major risk to publically advocate for these changes – that risk being to be vulnerable to deportation.

David’s Story.

Without a doubt, the most significant part of the evening presentation was hearing the stories of the young people.  David’s story was particularly powerful.

When David was young, his father was an electrical engineer working in a copper mine in Mexico.  Their family was relatively well off and even traveled to the U.S. occasionally as tourists.  When he was about eight, the mine closed, and his father lost his job. He was unemployed for a time, and eventually decided that he had to go to the US to work.  He did so, leaving the family behind for two weeks at a time. After a couple of years, his parents decided that was too hard; they all came to the US, crossing the border on their tourist visa, but bringing almost nothing with them so as to not attract undue attention.  They moved into a one bedroom, unfurnished apartment. 

Their status hung over the family like a dark cloud. To this day, David does not ride in an automobile with his parents for fear that a minor traffic violation could result in deportation.  David realized in high school that his future was limited.  His family simply could not afford to send him and his twin brother (both with a 4.0 gpa) to college.    Normal financial aid was not available to him.  Even if he did somehow manage to go to college, with no social security number, the possibility that he could achieve his dream to be an electrical engineer was slim.

David’s older brother finished high school in the US and eventually decided he had no future here.  He returned to Mexico.  David cried as he remembered saying goodbye to his brother.  He gave him all the money he had in his wallet, a dollar.  They have not seen each other since and will not be able to do so in the future.  If anyone in the family leaves the U.S., they would not be able to return.

He realized that high school was his last public education.  So, he was determined to make the most of it.  Four years of math were required.  He took five courses.  He took extra courses wherever he could.  He realized that he might be able to attend a less expensive community college, so with the help of Scholarship A-Z he searched out scholarships.  He will graduate, again with a 4.0 gpa.  But now his dream of finishing his degree and working as an electrical engineer seems as far away as ever.   DACA students get in-state tuition now at the community college, but the amount needed still seems out of reach.    He vowed not to give up, though. 

His story made a huge impact on all of us, and especially on the “younger life-learners” segment of our group, college students who had not always realized how fortunate they were to go to college, to get jobs, get married, and support their families.  David is smart and determined.  I think he’s going to make it somehow.  My mother’s heart weeps for all the Davids who have so much potential but are not encouraged/allowed to develop that potential.  Our country needs bright, determined young people like this.

We will have lost our moral soul if we do not find the path to welcome and integrate these youth into our communities. If we choose to practice a true inward/outward faith journey, surely “welcoming the stranger” is part of that outward journey.