Dear President Trump: Stop Spreading Fear
I remember the day I found out I was undocumented. I was 9 years old when my parents told me I was born in Mexico, in the city of Zacatecas.
I didn’t quite understand what that meant at first — I was only months old when I came to this country. But as I got older, I knew that I would not get the same opportunities as others that are born in the United States.
Then, at 15, my day came to face immigration officials when I applied for former President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, better known as DACA. They took my fingerprints and asked me many questions. I was nervous and my legs were shaky. I had rehearsed what I was going to say. My worst fear in that moment was making a mistake and that they would send me back to my country, a country that was foreign to me.
Many people like me are terrified to speak out about being undocumented. And today, it’s getting even harder because of you. You have been spreading fear, saying you will deport millions of people and build a wall to keep people out.
People like me have grown up in this country and feel like this is our home — I am not a criminal and neither is my family. South Los Angeles is my home. I have my goals here in America. I wish to become a fashion designer and have a family. I wish to give them a bright future like my parents did for me. I plan to accomplish my vision for myself and give myself an opportunity to branch out from where I came from. I am an immigrant, but I am not a criminal.
Former President Obama’s DACA policy gave me hope to be able to follow my dreams and plan a life for my family and I. Now that you are president, I’m not sure I’ll be able to accomplish my goals.
I hope that one day you’ll get an opportunity to read my letter, my story, and find it within yourself to give my family and I a new lease on life. Not all immigrants are the same nor think the same. I hope you give us a chance to stay here in America to show you what we, what I’m capable of doing. I’ll graduate, I’ll go to a university, get my degree, and get my career. I’ll make a change in this country like it’s making a change in me. Mark my words.
Sincerely,
Maria
For this series, student reporters with Intersections South LA partnered with Public Service Community High School at the Diego Rivera Learning Complex in South Los Angeles to hear students’ voices and help produce their letters to President Trump. Read and listen to more of the students’ letters here.
