DACA has been a lifeline for many Dreamers like me.
 ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

 

 

 

Dear John,

In 2004, my family sold everything we owned, crammed what remained of
our lives into five bags, and moved from Lima, Peru to Plano, Texas. For
the next five years, my dad trudged through the Texas heat as a
door-to-door salesman while paying his employer the immigration fees
required for sponsorship. One day, my dad's employer skipped town,
taking our immigration sponsorship money with him, leaving hundreds of
immigrant employees and their families - including us - without
documentation.

Like many other undocumented immigrants, I grew up knowing I couldn't
drive, I couldn't work, and most importantly, I couldn't tell people
why. Although I didn't always understand the full significance of my
situation, the pain of feeling left out was palpable.

Ten years ago, everything changed with the Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals (DACA) program. DACA brought back opportunities taken from me.

**With barriers removed, I now had the power to turn ambition into
reality.** Childhood goals like going to college, and even law school,
did not seem as far-fetched.

**DACA has been a lifeline for many Dreamers like me. Tell your member
of Congress to pass a permanent solution for Dreamers.**
 

As an undocumented immigrant, I chose to pursue immigration law
initially to empower myself with knowledge for the security of my
family. At the University of Texas at Austin and the American University
Washington College of Law (AUWCL), I was heavily involved in immigrant
advocacy. When I graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, I
became the first person in my family to graduate from an American
university. I showed my young cousins that although they may have to
work harder than others, their potential is limitless, and I continued
to show them this by graduating from AUWCL earlier this year.

**It's past time for Congress to pass common sense legislation for
Dreamers and stop restricting their immense potential.**
 

When I decided that I wanted to pursue a career in law, I committed
myself to using my law degree to help people throughout my life. I want
to bring the law to those who do not always have the opportunity to
learn it - and fight for society not as it is but what it could be.

**Over 600,000 Dreamers like me have studied, worked, and built lives in
the United States. Tell your Congressional representative to protect our
American Dream.**  

Sincerely,

Andrea Rodriguez Burckhardt

 

 

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