Hi team, it's Antonio, NextGen's Vice President of Communications. Recent polls say that immigration is one of the key issues driving young voters to the polls so I wanted to share my own immigrant story and urge you to tell Congress to pass the American Dream and Promise Act: [link removed]
When I ask friends about their earliest memories, I hear a lot of sweet stories about playing childhood games and their family traditions.
My first memory was crossing the border.
I was just three years old and didn’t understand what was happening. But from the moment I entered this country, I carried a title that followed and tried to limit me in every way possible: Undocumented.
That title, and the stigma that comes with it, taught me a hard lesson. While this country claims to be the land of opportunity and justice for all, that promise is conditional and subject to change.
Still, despite that lesson, loving America is all I’ve ever known.
When President Obama introduced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, I jumped at the chance to finally experience what it’s like to have this country recognize my humanity. Thanks to DACA, I was able to get a driver’s license and Social Security card, go to college, and get a job.
But DACA was a temporary fix, not a permanent solution. Since its inception, many politicians have chipped away at the protections we were promised under DACA and traumatized an entire generation, leaving our futures subject to whatever way the political winds are blowing.
Every two years, thousands of DACA recipients undergo the humiliating process of being evaluated by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to prove that they belong here and that they are not threats to our communities like I had to. I was protected under DACA for over a decade before finally acquiring my legal permanent residency, and every two years I would get my fingerprints and mugshot taken as if I were being booked into jail. And still, after all that, my work permit wasn’t a guarantee. The only thing that was certain was that I had to live a life in limbo, at the mercy of political representatives who at times only seemed to care about fanning the flames of hate and discrimination.
I don’t tell you all this to make you feel sorry for me. I’m telling you this because I’ve been fighting for a decade to make sure people like me get the legal protection they deserve. And I refuse to be quiet while politicians bargain with our futures.
I’m determined to fight to make the promise of the American dream a reality for other Dreamers. And I’m asking you to stand with me. Will you write to your elected officials today and demand that we provide a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients: [link removed]
I stand with Dreamers: [link removed]
Thank you,
Antonio Arellano
Vice President of Communications
NextGen America
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NextGen America
548 Market Street #98097
San Francisco, CA 94104
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