As I reflect on the images of the undocumented "immigrant youth" who are promoted in the media when discussing DREAM Act-eligible persons -- or Dreamers, I wonder if they are talking about me. Even as I graduated with a double major in English and Chicana/o Studies from California State University, Fullerton, my age was always in the back of my mind. I wondered if I could still consider myself an "immigrant youth" at age 29.
Working has made me age faster. I have seen my face get more wrinkles with the day to day labor of mowing other people's lawns. At times, I find myself feeling weary of working in my brother's landscaping business while having two degrees put away inside a drawer. The experiences of dealing with a system that attempts to dehumanize me, turn me into an object, and labels me an "illegal" who is unworthy of even existing within the borders of the United States have taken its toll on me as well. The immigration system that creates a culture of silence among the undocumented has tried to break my spirit, but it has not.
After all, I navigated the school system, where I was lied to with the farce that we are all created equal under the Constitution. Meanwhile, anti-immigrant laws like Proposition 187 were promoted and passed by then California Governor Pete Wilson. From being told that it was disrespectful to speak Spanish in class, to being under surveillance too often for looking "suspicious," I managed to graduate from high school because my family had one expectation for me: to get a quality education and a better life, one that was not be readily available to me in my so-called homeland.
At the time of my high school graduation, undocumented students like my friends and I had to pay out-of-state tuition to attend college. So none of us did. On the day of my graduation, there was more pain than joy; especially after realizing I would start work the next day in my brother's landscaping business. All the while, my classmates made plans for trips to Europe in the summer or college in the fall.
It took me four years to finally start college (Assembly Bill 540 passed in 2001, allowing undocumented students in California who met certain criteria to pay in-state tuition); but by then, I was angrier and more critical of the society I had grown up in, and which I felt had rejected me. But I was eager to attend college, to learn and to take back a future that I felt had been stolen from me in 1998. As the years passed, I reevaluated what the whole point of my education had been, and why my family would bring me to a country that tells people that if they work hard that they will achieve their goals, that this is the land of opportunities, the land where anyone can make it. Clearly, those promises were never intended for me.
But it was only after becoming a part of undocumented student rights organizations during my time at community college and helping create another group at the university that I found my purpose. Focusing on the specific needs of undocumented students and creating a support network became as important to me as working on my bachelor's degree. I finally felt acceptance once I found that there was a group of people just like me, who had hopes and wanted to work towards change. At age 26, I had finally joined the movement for immigrants' rights, but given my experiences of rejection in high school and my violent upbringing in the streets of the city of Anaheim, I no longer felt like a "youth" by then.
By the time the Dream Act failed to pass the Senate in 2010, I had already aged out of the bill's protection by one year. Never did I think of not fighting for it though, it was not an option. I was reminded of all the youth whose faces were filled with hope at the idea of the Dream Act passing. Many had the same ideals as I did, and the Dream Act was not all we were fighting for, we were also challenging an immigration system that criminalizes our communities. This system has been doing just that since I first came to this country in 1989. And it is a system that is not broken, but rather works too well at dividing families, and deciding who is and who is not worthy of living within its borders.
So as I continue my journey through education, at 31, I am a not-so-young Dreamer. I am currently working on a Master's degree in Education and still mow lawns for people who probably have less college degrees than I do. I struggle to make tuition, and rely on friends who did not make it to college, and the youth in the movement to inspire me with their energy and creativity.
Though my eyes get tired and I get frustrated, I know that my experiences have made me strong enough to share my voice, my anger and frustrations, but also my love for those who struggle against injustices. When I arrived to this country, I was a child full of confusion and fear. Now, I am a man with experience and love. I am no longer afraid.
John Greenleaf Whittier
THE ANGELS OF BUENA VISTA.
A letter-writer from Mexico during the Mexican war, when detailing some
of the incidents at the terrible fight of Buena Vista, mentioned that
Mexican women were seen hovering near the field of death, for the
purpose of giving aid and succor to the wounded. One poor woman was
found surrounded by the maimed and suffering of both armies, ministering
to the wants of Americans as well as Mexicans, with impartial
tenderness.
SPEAK and tell us, our Ximena, looking northward
far away,
O'er the camp of the invaders, o'er the Mexican
array,
Who is losing? who is winning? are they far or
come they near?
Look abroad, and tell us, sister, whither rolls the
storm we hear.
Down the hills of Angostura still the storm of
battle rolls;
Blood is flowing, men are dying; God have mercy
on their souls!
"Who is losing? who is winning?" Over hill
and over plain,
I see but smoke of cannon clouding through the
mountain rain."
No immigrant need/have to stay here if it's not to make money. If you are not successful go blame yourself. No immigrant stays in the US without a job, that's an entitlement for the citizenry.
The history of the United States’ wars of intervention is an area in which the U.S. public is essentially illiterate. It is why its citizens are so easily distracted at this crucial time, and so easily led into a public discourse unworthy of them. What is even sadder is that the largest single contingent of Hispanics currently fighting in Iraq is made of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans. According to journalist Jim Ross, there were 110,000 of them fighting in February last year. Called “green-card troops” and by some the “poverty draft,” they were all actively recruited by the U.S. Army.
Between 31,000 and 37,000 of the 130,000 Hispanic troops currently in Iraq are non-citizens of the United States. While Latinos make up 12.5 percent of the U.S. population, they account for 17.5 percent of the front line forces. Of the first 1,000 combat deaths in Iraq, over 120 were Latino and 70 of them were Mexicans. (Source: New Internationalist. May, 2005. p. 8).
Instead we have illegal immigrants who are more than 30 years old, still claiming to be completely innocent, and blaming everyone else for their situation. How ridiculous.
Illegal immigrants want to jump the line ahead of everyone else in the WORLD.
Immigrants are a labor force, an economic asset. Certainly we found ourselves in this messy economy due to our elected officials gross inability to stop abuses of the financial sector and the exporting of our manufacturing base. The market demands cheap labor, you can jump up and down and yell to the full power of your voice, however, it won't change supply/demand.
The law will eventually be changed, most if not all workforce will be legalized, we should kick out convicted fellows, including the natural citizens -if you ask me- and have people that really want to work to get the jobs and hold the people with the drive to create jobs. No immigrant stays here without a job. If he can create and develop a business with his Chicano degree, the better we all are. It's about money, your ideals about ethics/moral don't really make the economy move.
"The immigration system that creates a culture of silence among the undocumented has tried to break my spirit, but it has not."
"we were also challenging an immigration system that criminalizes our communities. This system has been doing just that since I first came to this country in 1989. And it is a system that is not broken, but rather works too well at dividing families, and deciding who is and who is not worthy of living within its borders."
" I know that my experiences have made me strong enough to share my voice, my anger and frustrations, but also my love for those who struggle against injustices. "
While you were brought here as a child, you have since become an adult. As an adult you realize why there are rules and requirements for things. You are still acting like a child and blaming everyone else for your situation of being illegal. Since you have become an adult, it has become YOUR responsibility to remedy the situation. You now own your illegal situation, not your parents, not the US, but only you. You can go on playing the victim forever, but it only hurts you.
P.S. Our last amnesty was 86-92 with a few extensions through to the early 2000s.
Republicans = will veto The DREAM Act, should it pass.
Democrats = will have forceably deported all the eligible DREAMers before this severely flawed legislation ever to pass the U.S. Congress.
Expecting The DREAM Act to pass after 11 years in the U.S. Congress and failing to pass on 7 different occassions ~ is like waiting on the second coming of (R) Ronald Reagan to grant his second amnesty to illegals in the USA ~
Just Not Going To Happen . . . . . .
ill-gotten monies, earned by illegal means ~ just like a drug dealer.
Yes. Let's open the borders!!! By all means.
Of course, he won't be getting a good paying job if he goes back home. But since he loves teaching I think he will have a great career and do some good for the less fortunate who did NOT get the great education we gave him.
How would folks feel if we were to opne our borders to all the Russians who wish to live in the US? More of the USA was part of Russia than was part of Mexico, so the Russians have a claim that the border crossed them too. Think that it will be OK for say 10 million Russians to come here to balance out the illegals?
I have NEVER heard of any European complain about immigration laws, when they get caught, they chalk it up to taking a gamble and losing. Too bad those here cannot do that, rather they scream racism.
I would love to see someone from my country scream racism, you would be laughed off to jail.
I think he answered his own question since he is getting an advanced degree for damn near free as well as an excellent education that he paid little for, even though he was NOT entitled to it. NOW he wants to cry that he cannot stay or get MORE benefits ILLEGALLY! Incredible! He and his family STOLE what they had NO right to get, the right to live, work and be educated in the US. Those promises were made to those who played by the RULES! NOT those who cheated,lied, stole,. and perjured their way into getting what he has now.
He seems to think that the US is the only unreasonable country on Earth which has limits on who may come here. In FACT the US admitts LEGALLY more than ONE MILLION legal immigrants/yr. Then we also have nearly 500,000/yr of illegals. That is more than ANY OTHER nation on Earth. So when this guy and his family broke all of our laws, they now think that they are just as good as US citizens, and LEGAL immigrants. That is like saying a crook is the same as law abiding citizens, and so they should NOT be put in prison.