Knights Sound Off: DACA

by | Jun 19, 2020 | 7 Visions Magazine, Feature, General, Knight Blog, Latest News

Today we continue our newest series: Knights Sound Off.  In this series, we provide the opportunity to uplift the voices of our brothers where give their perspectives on fraternal news, current events, and topics that impact our communities.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of upholding the rights and opportunities for DACA recipients which was granted by previous presidential administrations. Omega Delta Phi applauds this decision by the Supreme Court. Our brotherhood encompasses members from different paths of life and this ruling positively impacts our brothers and their loved ones.

For this edition, we reached out to our brothers in the DACA program to share their perspective on the Supreme Court ruling.

 

Christian Camarillo

Utah- Master of  Accountancy

CPA Candidate

I’m happy the program continues and I know that the decision brings a sigh of relief to the DACA recipients and their families. However, let’s not ignore the facts of the decision. The court ruled that the program was recklessly canceled by the administration not that the administration does not have the right to end it. This means that DACA recipients are not safe and the administration could push to ending the program the “correct” way.
Let’s also not forget that there are 11 million undocumented people in the US and people in cages. The decision is a victory but it is not the end, comprehensive immigration reform needs to happen and there needs to be greater pressure put on Congress and our individual senators/representatives to vote for something.
While I’m relieved at the DACA decision I am also worried that we will fade once more into obscurity, still having to renew a two-year work permit without any road to becoming full-blown residents or citizens outside of seeking a citizen to marry. The country needs to stop making DACA recipients feel like aliens less deserving of the rights of citizens. The immigration system is still broken and people are still suffering because of it.

 

 

Hector Cedeno

UW Parkside

Director of  Service

Omega Delta Phi Fraternity, Inc.

 

I have been an Activist fighting for my rights since 2008. I joined the movement because I wanted to be the voice of the community that is afraid to speak up…We have come a long way but we are not there yet! It feels like the pressure of DACA possibly ending has been lifted, however, there are still 13 million undocumented individuals that are not being protected. Today we sigh with relief. Tomorrow we wake up, take a deep breath, and get back to work!

Daca has not only opened doors for me but it has given me the courage to take on challenges that we as immigrants face on a daily basis. Daca has helped me get the career I have now. I am currently an Insurance agent and being able to hold a Driver’s License and an Insurance License because of doors DACA has opened has helped me a lot.
I’m honestly in shock still. Feels great to not have to worry about one more thing. Having to worry about this on a daily basis especially since my DACA renews soon and I’m still waiting on USCIS to approve my renewal was brutal. It’s a great victory but this is not over. There’s still a lot we need to fight for. We are #Heretostay #Somostodosonada

 

Erick Garcia

PVAMU

B.S. Architecture &  Construction Science

 

A big relief knowing I can stay and work in my profession right next to my family. The fight is not over. We should keep pushing for the ability to become a permanent resident with pathways to citizenship. Life is extremely short and we should be able to travel the world knowing we can come back to this wonderful country.

 

Victor Garcia

PVAMU

High School Teacher

I feel a little more at ease with the decision, but it’s not something permanent. It definitely feels like it’s a victory for us, but by no means a permanent one yet.  DACA has absolutely improved my life. I’ve been able to put myself through school and help out my parents. Thanks to the opportunities that it’s granted us. I honestly don’t know what I’d be doing if it wasn’t for DACA giving me the opportunity to work legally.
My DACA renewal application got approved about a month ago, so I feel a huge sense of relief knowing that those $500 didn’t go to waste. While the decision is a positive one, it still doesn’t change the fact that we are still on a temporary status. I hope and pray that one day we’ll have a path to permanent status so that we don’t have to live with the fear of another case being brought up trying to take down DACA. Until then, I’ll be saving up money for my renewal in 2 years lol.

 

Esteban Medrano

ASU-B.S. Biomedical Science

Pursuing  M.S. Healthcare Delivery

Medical Assistant

 

With the new Supreme Court decision on DACA, it gives a large gasp of air to the hundreds of thousands of individuals like me who have lived and strived for success here in the U.S thanks to this program since very young. As I set forth more into my career in healthcare, I continue to push and educate others on the importance of participating and advocating wherever possible. To many, this is the home they have grown up in and made their own. To many others, they have created businesses, careers, graduated from colleges, started families and so much more in order to be active members in their own communities.

Although this is an extremely great win for us, the fight does not stop. We need to continue to push now more than ever. Not only for our cause but to all causes and issues that have been silenced or pushed back for lack of leadership. The hope for the future is that a pathway is created to the many others, not only DACA recipients, but all undocumented who put forth great effort, work, and energy into everything they do each and every day. I am extremely happy this decision has given another push to what is right and much needed. I will continue to advocate for this and many other issues because slowing down is not an option.

 

 

Cesar  Pacheco

WMU-B.A.  Supply  Management

Quality Supervisor

Universal Logistics

 

As a recipient, witnessing the Supreme Court rule in favor of DACA was bittersweet. For the second time, we celebrate the victory to continue to stay in this country. The first victory being in 2012 when former President Obama gave the executive order. However, as we have witnessed, Trump’s administration has constantly attacked and threatened our communities. Today was proof that we are putting pressure more than ever before.

It has been a victory not only for DACA but also for the other 11 million undocumented people that deserve a place in this country. It is a step towards change in our broken system. In these times, it is crucial to be informed and educated. Not just in our cause but also in those of others that are affected by the injustices of this country. This momentum cannot be stopped, we are here to stay. Black Lives Matter.

 

Josue Quintana

UW- Electrical & Computer Engineering Major

Chief Intern of Flight Deck Engineering

Boeing Company

 

 

In the past few years since the President and his administration decided to illegally end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, I have been living with a constant fear that I could be sent away to a country that I do not know. I was born in Puebla, Mexico, and remained in Mexico for only two months; I am considered a threat to a select group of people because I look different, I speak another language, and I involuntarily came to this country.

My parents brought me to the United States of America so that I may have more opportunities to be successful in life. They wanted to escape volatile economic opportunities, poverty, hunger,  and drug-related crime, similar to what most families around the world would want for their children. I have had limited opportunities because of my undocumented status, but many doors opened when DACA was established, allowing me to “come out of the shadows” and live a life free of worry. Seeing the great opportunities given to DREAMers showed me how valuable everyone is to maintaining a healthy economy and creating a great heritage for generations.

While the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in a majority that the manner in which the current administration attempted to phase out the DACA program was illegal, it is a reminder that, unfortunately, undocumented people still reside in this country “on borrowed time.” I am relieved today, even tomorrow…but what about after then? This is a time to realize that undocumented people are valuable to the United States economy. We are engineers, teachers, doctors, mechanics, agricultural workers, political advocates, students, tutors, business owners, and above all else, worthy of living in this country without fear of being taken away.

 

Emmanuel Quiroz

UTSA -B.A.  Communications

College Access  Coordinator

Houston ISD

 

To say that the past 4 years have been hard, it would be an understatement. With the current political climate that we are living in, laws being approved and then reversed within a couple of months later has been such a jigsaw of emotions. The mental health of not only DREAMers, but our black community, as well as the LGBTQ+ has hit a new rock bottom. Through these past couple of years, my hopes and dreams have come to a halt. I’ve put my dreams of pursuing grad school in the back burner, and it really has been a time where for the first time I’ve lived in fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of going back to a country that is no longer home, fear of getting home to an empty house, fear of being put out of work because my permit wasn’t coming on time, that is until today.

For the first time in a very long time, I have hope. This week alone, the Supreme Court has stood on the right side of history for two cases. For the first time, it feels like they are hearing the people. As tumultuous as 2020 has been, I am confident that people are going to go out there and vote, engage in meaningful conversations who will ignite change, and continue to make a stand in subjects that have been swept under the rug for too long. I am grateful to be able to continue to work and continue changing the minds of my students, to be challenged, and to continue to grow as a professional.

I’d like to give a huge shout out to my brothers, but most importantly to my chapter at UTSA. When I pledged, I was looking for an organization that would be meaningful. My brothers at UTSA have always inspired me to keep working, they have been the first ones to check up on me when situations like these arise, the first ones to be at the Cesar Chavez march, and engage in. For the past 3 years, I have also had the opportunity to serve as Marketing Director for CTX Regional Board, and my colleagues have been some of the most supportive, welcoming, and engaging humans that I’ve ever come across. They show me the importance of why I am on the board and are the people who continue to ignite my first as I grow in the brotherhood. Because of brothers like Bryan, Kellen, Eric B., Cisco, Hugo, and many others. I am the DREAMer that I am and will continue to be as I grow.

 

Gerardo Rico

OSU -B.S. Marketing & International Business

E&J Gallo Winery, Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits

Sales Consultant

 

After the program was put at risk back in September of 2017 when President Trump decided to terminate the program, my life, along with that of 700,000 DACA recipients became uncertain. I became frustrated because even though I had recently graduated (in May 2017), my ability to continue living and working in the United States in order to pursue my life and career goals was put into question. It felt disheartening, and quite frankly, shitty, to know that everything that I had accomplished not only in college but also prior to that, was essentially for nothing. But the biggest fear for me was knowing that I would be forced to leave my family behind without having accomplished the things I had set myself out to do for them.
Flash forward almost 3 years, and that fear continues to loom overhead. And with the challenge of Trump’s decision and that decision making its way up to the Supreme Court, hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients – like myself – still maintained hope that some positive change would come to us, or at the very least, that DACA would remain in place. I had kept up with the various dates in which it was possible for a decision to be made on the future of DACA, and after hearing that decision today, I felt a weight lifted off my chest. As cliche as it sounds, it very much feels that way because of everything that is at stake. As I’m sure many sons and daughters of immigrants can attest, there is a strong sense of sacrifice that immigrant parents abide by; that idea that they are willing to endure physical and mental exhaustion from work, willing to withstand embarrassment in not knowing English or not being as educated, and even putting their own lives on the line to come here just so their children can have the chance at the better life they never had. That is what is at stake. Making sure that their sacrifices, as well as ours, are worth it in the end.
I’m very happy with the outcome of today’s decision, but I’m aware that this isn’t the end by any means. The decision was made based not on whether the president can or cannot terminate DACA, but more rather on how the president and his administration went about doing it, so there is still an opportunity for DACA to again be terminated. Given the recent incidents that have affected the Black community, I do feel like this is just as much of a victory for them as it is for us. I’ve seen solidarity among both groups over the years, and I want to see progress being made on both fronts. And now that the 2020 election is coming up, it’s important that we come together to make our voices be heard and bring about real changes in our society and not just temporary solutions, which I’m sure we’re all tired of. Since undocumented people and even DACA-mented are not allowed to vote, I do feel we are reliant on not only the Black community but on everyone to help us bring about immigration reform. Again, I’m happy with today’s decision, and I’ve appreciated everyone’s support from day one, but I’m looking forward to seeing more significant changes happen in the near future, such as a viable pathway to citizenship for all of us Dreamers.

 

Edwin  Romero

UTD

Paralegal

 

I feel pleasantly surprised and I feel relieved like I can breathe easier at least for now. I also feel excited and motivated to continue the fight for liberation for all.  DACA changed my life by allowing me opportunities that the rest of our community doesn’t have. Like being able to have a driver’s license and be able to earn livable wages.

SCOTUS ruled that the manner in which Trump tried to end DACA was unlawful, but that continues to leave the door open for his admin to try to end the program “correctly”. What this ruling also shows us is the power we have as young people advocating for real change in this country. Today’s ruling would not have been possible without the momentum created by young black leaders and the black lives matter movement. Today we celebrate our collective win because we realize that our liberation is bound in each other’s, meaning no one is free until we all are. Today and every day we shout with our siblings that all lives won’t matter until #blacklivesmatter. We join them in demanding that we #DefundPolice as well as #AbolishICE because we will not stop fighting until we have a world we all deserve to live in with dignity and respect for all human lives. Today we collectively say that #HomeIsHere and we are #HereToStay

 

Edgar Vela

UTD- B.S. Computer Engineering

 

Yesterday, the Supreme Court of the United States made a historical decision to uphold DACA (Deferred Action for Early Childhood Arrivals), and with that decision came a wave of euphoria across the entire DACAmented community. This program has helped so many people be able to get an education, provide for their families, pursue their dreams, and reach their goals. I am one of those people. DACA provided me with the ability to pursue my dreams without limitations or fear of the impossible. Ever since I can remember, I’ve had a voice in my brain telling me that education was my “way out” of the low-income cycle I was born into, and that I had to get my act together so I could someday have a bright future. I tried to stand out in school by enrolling in the most advanced classes possible, participating in extracurricular activities, and making myself the ideal candidate to be accepted into a 4-year university. I graduated top 2% of my class with an International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma and got accepted into the School of Engineering at the University of Texas at Dallas. After graduation I was able to begin a professional career in my field that has opened so many more doors than I ever thought were possible. Oh and did I mention I did not have to pay a single dollar out of pocket for my university education?

I do not share these accomplishments with you to boast and receive praise. I share them with you because without DACA, none of my accomplishments would have been possible. I could not have gotten the academic scholarship I needed to be able to afford my studies or the job at the campus bookstore that provided me with income to be able to cover my food and transportation costs while completing my degree. I would not have even been able to apply to a job in my field of study after receiving my degree. DACA gave me the legal means to confidently say – and believe – that I belonged there. That I belonged in that educational institution, in that workplace, in that city, in that country, in that world. In that world that so many of my peers took for granted. In that world that I knew could be taken from me at any moment. I belonged.

Although it may sometimes seem like the world is against us and that we have no one on our side, we cannot stop fighting the good fight. There are good people out there who are willing to help. We must not be so quick to give up. There is always way, and if you do not see one, then make one. Today’s decision means that all the work that our community activists have been putting in is not in vain. It means that my people and I can breathe and celebrate a victory. The fight is long from over, however this fuels our spirit and lets us know that we are powerful when we unite. Our UNITY shall keep us strong, never to be divided.