dream | Now Here. Know Fear.

An audio story by: Tearsa Joy Hammock

First in a series called An Undocumentary—personal stories of immigrants in the Bay Area.

Erika Cisneros, a lesbian immigrant who is out of status, seeks hope through deferred action. Her friends from high school, Aliens Serna and Hana Martucci, also discuss going through Erika’s struggles with her.

I recorded the interviews for this audio story in October of my old friend from community college. So much has happened since then, but now we can finally enjoy the fruits of my labors editing, editing, editing.

Today, Erika is still dealing with legal issues surrounding her status even though she has been granted deferred action.

Photo by: Hana Martucci

Welcome to my first post concerning a deep and personal subject of interest of mine, immigration as a minor.

First of all, I’ll tell you one thing (or a few)…

It’s my opinion that the immigration controversy in the United States has been tabled long enough! Children brought to the United State whether by legal or illegal means deserve to have a chance to grow up without the fear that they will be separated from their family or that they will be judged based on choices they were too young to be held responsible for making.

I want to give you some things to think about and some resources I use to learn more about how the US is dealing (or not) with this issue and others related to it and some ideas for how we should.

Second of all, I am a strong supporter of the proposed Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. If you haven’t heard about it, well you should, and now you are lucky enough to get educated on it ‘cuz you’re reading this right now!

A lil background on the DREAM act according to a DREAM website (paraphrased):

The DREAM Act is a bipartisan legislation ‒ pioneered by Sen. Orin Hatch [R-UT] and Sen. Richard Durbin [D-IL] ‒ that seeks to solve “the hemorrhaging injustice” in the United States that approximately 65,000 youth do not get the opportunity to graduate high school because they are “smeared with an inherited title” as illegal immigrant. These kids grew up in the US for most of their lives and desire to be recognized for what they truly are, Americans. If the the DREAM Act would pass, qualifying undocumented youth would be eligible for a 6 year long conditional path to citizenship which requires completion of a college degree or two years of military service.

Another excellent DREAM site puts it this way:

“The DREAM Act is a bipartisan proposal, which would create a pathway to citizenship for thousands of young students who were brought to the United States years ago as children. If Congress fails to act this year, another entire class of outstanding, law-abiding high school students will graduate without being able to plan for the future, and some will be removed from their homes to countries they barely know. This tragedy will cause America to lose a vital asset: an educated class of promising immigrant students who have demonstrated a commitment to hard work and a strong desire to be contributing members of our society.”

I have signed this petition and I think you should too. If you aren’t an immigrant yourself and you don’t know someone who is one, I highly recommend talking with one and hearing them out on their story. I have met a few friends of my own whose stories are near and dear to me. I hope to be able to share some of them here in the following posts. Keep on coming back. Together I hope we can make things better.

You know what I’m saying?

Take a look-see at a few more resources I use when looking for more info on these issues:

1. Immigration Support (I use this site most. Sign up for the newsletter!)

2. CNN

3. L.A. Times

4. L.A. Now

5. Migrant Rights

6. Immigration Laws

7. USA Citizenships

8. VisaPro

9. Immigration Direct

10. DREAM Act on Twitter (FOLLOW it!)