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As immigrant rights activist Ciriac Alvarez recently tweeted, “the end of [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] is not just ‘politics,’ it is the livelihood of 800,000 immigrants. We are people. We exist.”
One of these young people is Gabriel Sanchez, a DACA recipient who will soon graduate with an honors degree in biomedical science. Sanchez has dreams of teaching and spent his summer tutoring low-income students in physics and other science courses.
But following Donald Trump ending DACA, Sanchez’s life stands to get upended if Congress is unable to pass a clean version of the bipartisan DREAM Act, despite the fact that he has lived in the U.S. since the age of three:
"I feel like my entire life is now in jeopardy," Sanchez told BuzzFeed News after the news broke on Tuesday. "I’m about to finish college and am trying to plan what's next and I don't know if I can even be here at this time next year."
Sanchez, like thousands of other DREAMers preparing to graduate from colleges and universities across the US, is in a precarious position. At the brink of starting his career, he faces the possibility of being uprooted from a life he's been building and sent back to a country he can hardly remember.
Although he was born in Mexico, Sanchez says he has no connection to his birthplace and expressed anxiety at the prospect of trying to start a life there.
"I don't know anything about Mexico," he said. "People say to me, 'I didn't know you spoke Spanish,' or 'You don't act Mexican,' and it's because I'm really not. I grew up here."
Sanchez isn’t alone. Yesterday, Univision reported on two brothers, Daniel and Enrique Ramírez, who face uncertain futures despite knowing no other place but the U.S. as their home. But like many immigrant youth like them, the brothers are vowing to keep fighting:
For Enrique, whose DACA permit expires in September of next year, the announcement complicates his plans to work while he finishes his law degree.
It could also make it hard for him to keep studying: “I’m thinking that maybe I won’t be able to work next year, even though I have my undergraduate degree from Harvard and I’m working towards a law degree,” he said. “I’m not going to be able to have a real job, and I’m thinking about how it may impact the scholarships that I have that require a social security number.”
And yet he remains optimistic: “We have faith in the possibility that there will be a more permanent solution,” he said.
According to the most recent data from the Center for American Progress, “45 percent of [DACA recipients] are currently in school. Among those currently in school, 72 percent are pursuing a bachelor’s degree or higher.”
In that survey, “a robust 94 percent said that, because of DACA, ‘I pursued educational opportunities that I previously could not.’” DACA means more than just a work permit and a driver’s license—it means the ability to strive. If Congress is unable to pass a clean bill, immigrant youth stand to lose so many things they’ve they’ve worked so hard for:
Sanchez never told his fellow classmates, close friends, or teachers that he was a DACA recipient. His little sister was born in the US, and he says his extended family has lived in Oklahoma since the 1980s, which is why his parents raised him there. He was also fearful of how people would see him, especially after Trump was elected.
"I haven't told anyone because of the negative views it has. It's scary," he said.
But now wants to come out and share his story to show people "not to be afraid of us because we are not that different." Sanchez is an all-state swimmer. He was a college athlete and a personal tutor. He's participated in student government and is his senior class representative.
"People like me have DACA," he said. "I look and act American, but on paper, I'm not, and that's devastating."
As Americans in every single way but on a piece of paper, Sanchez, the Ramírez brothers, and thousands of other undocumented immigrant youth must stay here in order to continue having the opportunity to flourish and build their lives.
You can help them by using this tool to call your member of Congress and demand they not side with white supremacists, and instead with immigrant youth. “The end of DACA is not the end of our dreams,” Alvarez said. “Our permits may have expiration dates but, our fight for justice doesn't.”