The Battle to Stay — How do Dreamers Organize Themselves Politically in these Pivotal Times?
Deyvid Morales was 21 when he was on his way to his freshman year of university in Louisiana. Just as he arrived, Border Patrol agents entered the bus and asked everyone for their documentation. Having immigrated illegally from Mexico with his mother as a nine-year-old, Morales was undocumented. They arrested him and scheduled his deportation right away. On August 2012, just a month before, President Obama announced a new policy: DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Action), a program that would be instrumental in helping Deyvid, and 3.6 million other young undocumented immigrants, remain in the country they consider home. Morales was able to use DACA in his court case to fight his hearing and was granted the right to remain in the U.S.
The desire to help others in the same situation as him is what inspired Morales, now 26, to create three smartphone apps that provide accurate and up-to-date information for DACA recipients. “Know Your Rights,” was the first one he launched, with the aim to prevent detainment or deportation due to lack of information. His second app, “DACA Scholars,” helps undocumented immigrants find scholarships, internships, and job opportunities. “Right now we’ve been able to help 1,400 people. I thought I would never have been able to reach out to such a big number of Dreamers, and most importantly, give them accurate information.” said Morales. And with the app’s success came a new job opportunity: a position at the Mexican Consulate in the Consular Protection Department, personally offered by the ambassador, Gerónimo Gutierrez. While the first two apps were funded by himself and developed with the volunteered help of friends, his third app, “Derechos de Imigrantes y Ayuda” (Immigrant Rights and Help), managed to get sponsored by the Mexican Consulate and the Institute for Mexicans Abroad.
These apps are just one of the many new resources for DACA recipients that emerged in the last few years. Their demand was sparked by the 2016 Trump presidential campaign, as it has been an emotional rollercoaster for the 3.6 millions of Dreamers, the name given to young undocumented immigrants that arrive to the U.S as children. Their situation as legal citizens changes so frequently, they can never be sure what it’ll be the next week. This uncertainty and the openly anti-immigrant agenda pushed by the current administration have caused an increase in grassroots movements and non-profit organizations with a common goal: to defend the immigrant community, in hopes that they preserve their right to stay in the country.
While there are more than 3 million young undocumented people in the country, only 800,000 are enrolled in DACA. This 2012 federal government program defends individuals under 31 years of age (as of June 15, 2012) that have come to the USA before the age of 16 and have continuously resided in the country from June 15, 2008 to the present; it protects them from deportation and gives work permits renewable every two years.
Unity for Decisive Action
Actions such as having accurate and up-to-date information, being aware of their rights, making calls to state representatives, organizing through social media, and rallying, are how Dreamers and their supporters aim to push for a decisive action to finally be taken. United We Dream (UWD), the largest immigrant youth-led community in the country, is the umbrella organization for over 40 other local groups spread over 26 states and has over 400,000 members. It is the main hub for all DACA related grassroots social movements and most non-profit organizations of the same cause are affiliated to it in some way. As stated by UWD, the organization builds power by organizing those who are most directly impacted at the local, state and national levels. UWD strives to strengthen the organizing advocacy and lobbying capacities of immigrant leaders, and to build alliances with social movements that share their same vision.
One of the organizations affiliated with United We Dream that was contacted is the KS/MO Dream Alliance. The organization was formed in 2008 (same year as United We Dream) when Yahaira Carillo, their founding member, found herself frustrated with the limited resources and accessibility barriers for undocumented students. Alex Martinez, Director and Community Organizer for KS/MO Dream Alliance, reinforced the idea that it is essential for like-minded organizations to work together: “collaboration is crucial; we are able to continue our fights thanks to all the support from different organizations and coalitions,” he said. The organization reported that most of their budget comes from donors, although they do receive some funding from UWD. KS/MO also partner up with El Centro, a local non-profit from Kansas, to give full scholarships so Dreamers can renew their DACA applications and provide free legal assistance. The organization’s websites really facilitate the donation process; easy to use links are available and contributions for any amount can be made online using a credit card.
“It is important to have a national network of undocumented youth organizations; together we have more power,” affirmed Roberto Valadez, one of the organizers of Soñando Juntos, another local affiliate to UWD in El Paso, Texas, where currently 80% of the total population is Latino. As a small group that established itself officially only in September of last year, Soñando Juntos is slowly growing thanks to community outreach through marches, forums and events. One of the organization’s co-founders, Alonzo Mendoza, explained that they are working to expand an activist culture in El Paso and provide safe spaces for undocumented immigrants to talk about their struggle. As Soñando Juntos continued to grow, it received support from several other local and national initiatives, such as the Labor Justice Committee, the American Civil Liberties Union and Education Not Deportation. Collaboration includes promoting events, providing each other with resources and spaces to work in and, most importantly, putting their names out there. The non-profit also receives some funds from United We Dream but have their own fundraising events.
Mendoza stressed how important receiving financial support is for grassroots organizations to flourish and expand in order to better serve the immigrant community, highlighting the impact of movements like Soñando Juntos; he added: “It is thanks to the power of immigrant youth that we have pushed the fight for the Dream Act as far as we have, and that we have forced the U.S. Congress to debate about this immigration issue.”
The Ups and Downs for Recipients of DACA
“Aside from the narrative that is created around the label of Dreamers, we prefer to identify ourselves as undocumented and/or immigrant youth. This is because usually the Dreamer narrative sees all of us as successful college students or brilliant entrepreneurs, but we must recognize that everyone deserves an opportunity,” commented Noe Labrado, 22. Mr. Labrado arrived in Texas from Mexico when he was 6 years old and is currently a Field Organizer at Soñando Juntos, a local non-profit organization in El Paso, Texas. From 2010–2012, advocates for DACA played an essential role in convincing President Obama that these young undocumented immigrants should be protected from deportation. In September of 2016, President Donald Trump announced his commitment to cancel the program.
That stance suddenly changed in February of 2017, when he stated at a White House Conference: “We’re going to deal with DACA with heart.” In September of the same year, President Trump, despite previous rhetoric to the contrary, decided to slowly dismantle the DACA program, and gave Congress until March 5th of 2018 to negotiate a replacement before the Dreamers lost their protection. For the past few months until now, he is using the program as a bargaining chip to get the border security his campaign promised: protection for the Dreamers would be served, but only in exchange for $25 billion to build the U.S — Mexico border wall and further restraints on legal immigration would be enforced.
On the 24th of April of this year, The New York Times reported “the biggest setback yet for the Trump administration in its attempt to end the program:” Judge John D. Bates, of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia, declared that Dreamers’ protections must remain as so, and that the government must resume accepting new applications. He stated that the previous decision to end DACA was based on the “virtually unexplained” grounds that the program was “unlawful.”'
Andrea Borja, a public notary and DACA recipient, immigrated from El Salvador to Texas when she was 15. Now 29, Borja just recently managed to get her permit approved for two more years. “When President Trump rescinded DACA, my entire world fell apart. My anxiety kicked in, I had to deal with depression, my entire life has been placed on hold. I am currently preparing for the LSAT not knowing if I will be able to finish law school here. [I have] also been wanting to buy my own house, but I am scared that I might have to leave the United States and abandon everything here.” she said. Being able to plan ahead for as little as two years is already a victory for Borja and others in the same situation.
