The Good Fight

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I began today with a heavy heart. This morning, Attorney General Sessions made the official announcement that the DACA program has been rescinded. I was at work and knew that this was coming but, I still felt like I had been sucker punched. When I gathered my thoughts they all came back to one thing - my privilege.

My life will not be turned upside-down by this decision. I am privileged to be a U.S. Citizen. I started my first job the summer after I turned 16. I took Drivers Ed and got my license that same year. I applied for colleges last Fall without a problem. I finished my first week of college with my only concern being how many chapters I had to read for my speech class. These are all privileges that I take for granted.

I cannot allow myself the privilege of being silent. My friends, colleagues, and mentors are DREAMers. They are students, workers, parents, spouses, and leaders. Over everything and anything else, they are people. 

I have gotten to know these people through my volunteer work with immigrant advocacy works. I have seen how intense the vetting process is during the past two years I've worked at an immigration law firm. My workload this next month will mostly consist of preparing renewal application for those that will be allowed to apply before October 5th. I will have to start closing out the files for the clients who will be without status as soon as March 6, 2018. I will attend protests and community meetings. I will contact my elected officials and continue to be an ally. 

My community will not be silenced and neither will I.