Univision: "We will not go back into the shadows, let's fight," dreamers say in Chicago before the possible end of DACA

This article was published on August 30, 2017. The text below has been translated to English. A link to the article can be found here.

By Univision Staff

For Yuriana Aguílar, a 28-year-old dreamer, the possible elimination of the DACA program would mean being a "ghost", something she is not ready to do.

"We are not going to be hidden anymore, we are going to go out to fight, we will continue fighting ... We are important", says Aguílar, first dreamer graduated from Merced University of California, doctorate in physiology, and who teaches in the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, where he trains future scientists.

DACA is in the sights of 10 Texas-led state prosecutors and the Idaho governor (all Republicans), who in early July sent a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions demanding that, before 5 September, will eliminate the program or otherwise go to court.

Since then the fear that there is an imminent announcement from President Trump has put on alert the dreamers who are waiting for what can happen. It is estimated that DACA protects 800,000 young people, of whom more than 41,000 would be in Chicago.

Aguílar says that every time he sees the news and hears information from DACA he is afraid.

"Everything stops. I have a lot of anxiety. I feel scared for my family. They know where to find me, "says this Mexican immigrant, who is the mother of a two-year-old girl, but at the same time she has confidence that the community is supporting them and that they are not alone.

"We put them on the line. We told them to trust. We are partly responsible for what may happen, "said Mike Quigley, a congressman in the fifth district of Illinois, who attended a news conference this Wednesday with a group of dreamers, including Aguílar.

"At this point it is a matter of more congressmen raising their voice and with the public, educational institutions and pro-immigrant organizations raise public pressure towards the White House. DACA is a very important program, "said the politician.

Community organizations are already organizing a major event at the Thompson Center after any announcements are made and are working on an immediate action plan once the program's future is known.

"Once an announcement is made, we are going to go to the Federal Plaza," said Daysi Funes, director of the Romero Center, an agency that has been working for 30 years with Central American immigrants and refugees in northern Chicago. this will be the meeting point of all pro-immigrant organizations.

"A single organization does nothing, as a group we will be stronger," Funes said, adding that the second step will be to continue to seek the support of more congressmen and politicians to support the cause.

"I am afraid, but also faith that everything will be fine. I have no other house, I can not imagine anywhere else, "says Gosia Labno, a dreamer of Polish origin, who was unable to attend her brother's funeral, because she could not leave the country. a scholarship for academic performance.

"When the show started, it was the best day of my life, because the American dream would finally come true for me. This is the only country I've ever met, this is my home, "says Labno.

"We want them to know that we are not going to leave. Let's fight, "said Carolina Parra, a 28-year-old Mexican-born dreamer who is a student at the University of Illinois and is preparing to become a history teacher.

"We are the face of more than 11 million undocumented immigrants. It is not only the dreamers who will be affected, but also their families, "adds Parra, who with everything that is happening sometimes feels that his voice breaks, but not the heart. "I said, 'I'm going to stop crying, we're going to fight.'"

To Aguílar, the future remains the United States for them.

"Five years ago we gave our information to the government and I think we passed any test they had. Now what we want something different, a permanent plan. I am proudly Mexican, but I see the United States as the country that adopted me, that shaped me, the one that saw me grow, "concluded Aguílar.