LOS ANGELES – Tommy Esquivel graduated from high school in Hollywood, Southern California last week with awards in honor of his determination, achievement and top grade in his Advanced Placement Environmental Science class. “I’m excited to see what you will do with your future,” his science teacher Alicia Escobedo said in a farewell note. “Do great things.”
But 19-year-old Esquivel, who grew up in Los Angeles without legal immigration status, faces significant obstacles to realizing his potential. He has limited access to financial aid for the college. In many states, he cannot obtain a driver’s license. Without a social security number, he cannot work legally. And although he has lived in the United States since he was 9 years old, he could face deportation to Guatemala at any time.
For the first time, the majority of undocumented immigrants graduating from high school in the United States do not have any of the protections offered over the past 10 years under an Obama-era program that protected most so-called Dreamers from deportation and offered them access to jobs. college tuition assistance.
The Delayed Childhood Arrival Program was designed to protect some of the nation’s most vulnerable immigrants – young people who were brought into the country as children and grew up essentially Americans – until Congress could agree on a full reconsider immigration or at least pass a bill to offer them a path to citizenship.
In the decade since the DACA came into force in June 2012, some 800,000 young people have registered. But a long-term political decision never materialized. Under constant attack from Republican immigration hawks, the DACA stopped accepting new applications; she has remained embroiled in litigation since President Donald J. Trump tried to cancel the program in 2017.
Mr Esquivel is among nearly 100,000 young immigrants entering a precarious adulthood this spring – without the most basic tools for building a future in the only country many have ever known.
“After I’ve done all this work, I don’t know where it will take me,” said Mr. Esquivel, who joined his parents in the United States in Guatemala when he was in third grade. “I don’t know what I can do.”
DACA, which has garnered some bipartisan support over the years as its beneficiaries are among the most sympathetic of the nation’s illegal immigrants, has been transformative for many, enabling them to work legally – and generally afford a college, build a career and to buy homes. The idea among supporters was that Congress would eventually consider the immigration status of approximately 11 million people who are in the country illegally, making the temporary program unnecessary.
“The hope was that DACA would be a bridge to legislation and that an administrative program would no longer be needed because there would be a legal one,” said Alejandro Mayorcas, interior security minister who heads the federal agency that designs and manages the program. effective June 15, 2012
“The split seems to be an obstacle even to doing things for which there is a bipartisan agreement,” he said in an interview.
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Immigration analysts estimate that the new class of young immigrants who grew up in the United States but do not have legal status or any protection from the DACA will grow by 100,000 each year.
Today, 60 percent of those protected by DACA are 26 years of age or older, and even if the program survives legal challenges, there is no way to enroll younger immigrants like Mr. Esquivel, who arrived in 2012, unless amended to include them, which is unlikely given the political differences over immigration.
“For me, DACA was a crucial test when we were going to legalize millions of people,” said Gabi Pacheco, 37, a former undocumented student who led a campaign launched in 2010 that brought Dreamers’ plight to the American public and convinced them. the Obama administration to provide them with relief.
“After all, we are 10 years later; it’s as if we’ve regressed, “said Ms. Pacheco, director of TheDream.US, a program that provides college scholarships for undocumented students.
The inability to hire tens of thousands of high school graduates comes amid a “huge labor shortage” that has developed in part due to the country’s aging population and low birth rates, said Neil Bradley, chief political director of the US Chamber of Commerce.
“Congress has had a decade to solve this problem, and it is not clear that they have not found a way forward,” he said.
Teresa Perez, 19, who immigrated to the United States from Mexico when she was 2, was about to turn 15, the age eligible to apply for the DACA when Mr. Trump canceled the program in September. 2017
However, Ms. Perez persisted – encouraged by her older sister, who has DACA protection – and was accepted to the University of Utah last year. She collected scholarships from groups that do not require DACA status to cover training.
But after completing her general education classes in her first semester, she was informed that she could not enter the nursing program because she lacked a social security number.
“It takes a big impact on your life when something like that affects your life,” said Ms. Perez, who said the shortage of nurses is forcing many hospitals in the United States to hire abroad.
Domonic, a 22-year-old undocumented student from the Turks and Caicos Islands, arrived in the United States in 2007 at the age of seven. Eight years later, he could only watch others his age apply for DACA: He had entered the country a few days after the program’s end date.
Without DACA, he cannot obtain a driver’s license or government identification in Florida. A scholarship from TheDream.US allowed him to visit the International University of Florida. He expects to graduate in December with a degree in accounting and data analysis.
“Will I be able to find a job in my field, will I contribute to this country, will I ever live a normal life?” Said Domonic, who did not want his family name to be used for fear of attracting the attention of the authorities. “Will I have to pack my bags and leave the only place I call home?”
Asians are the fastest growing cohort of undocumented students, including James Song, who came to Chicago from South Korea on a tourist visa when he was 9 and never left.
While attending high school for the past two years, he has worked long hours for money in Korean restaurants to save for college, and hopes to study biochemistry in the fall at the University of Illinois. Although it receives some subsidies, it is still low.
“These problems have made it difficult for me to have hope and look to the future,” said Mr. Song, 19, who received support from Hana Center, a non-profit organization that serves Asian immigrants.
But he can’t imagine living in another country. “All the people I know are here,” he said. “I’m not good at reading or speaking Korean.”
Mr. Esquivel also grew up in Los Angeles, speaking more English than Spanish.
At Hollywood High, a Southern California landmark whose alumni include actress Judy Garland and former Secretary of State Warren Christopher, Mr. Esquivel was admitted to the New Media Academy, a magnetic program that combines college preparation with video production and animation training.
He excelled academically, joining the baseball team and clubs on campus. He did school tours. “Every child was trying to figure out where he belonged on the social ladder,” said his freshman English teacher Casey Klein. “Tommy was true to himself, kind to everyone. I never complained. “
He rarely talked about his undocumented status.
In 2020, Ms. Klein recommended him as a mentor for a summer program that alleviates high-risk freshmen entering high school, a position that pays $ 15 an hour.
But the school district work form required him to enter a social security number.
“The fascinating thing about Tommy is that he said, ‘I can’t get paid for my status, but I still want to do it,'” said Ali Nezu, coordinator of the New Media Academy. So he did.
He mastered digital editing and became proficient in the use of professional cameras.
“I want to be a cameraman,” Mr. Esquivel said, “or a grip, just someone who can help around the set and fix anything that needs fixing.”
But he had to miss opportunities.
He was approached last summer for an internship as a film director, but had to refuse because he had no documents.
At the beginning of last year, Ms. Nezu intended to recommend him for a paid internship at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, which boosted the careers of some Hollywood high school students. When it became clear that undocumented students did not qualify, she chose another student.
On April 12, Mr. Esquivel was admitted to the School of Film at San Francisco State University.
Mr. Esquivel celebrates with his family and teachers. But then he looked carefully at his situation.
Most of his education will be covered by a state subsidy, for which undocumented students qualify. But how could he afford $ 17,000 for a room and food without the opportunity to work?
He decided to enroll in a public college near Los Angeles, Santa Monica College, where he could live at home.
On his last day of school, Friday, Mr. Esquivel thanked each of his teachers, his eyes watering as they described him as a gift to the school community.
“They all love and feel good about you,” said his English teacher, Bodin Adler, before hugging him. “I’m really going to miss you.”
In his family’s modest apartment, Mr. Esquivel’s mother displayed his high school awards – a glass trophy, a wooden plaque and certificates.
His group of friends was planning a trip to San Diego, but Mr. Esquivel decided it was better not to go so they wouldn’t get …
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