I am home
by: Joana Cainglet, Abigail Brooke, and Angelica Pipitone
Deferred Action for Childhood arrivals, more commonly known as DACA, is a program that was instated in 2012 that allows qualifying children who have immigrated to the United States to stay for two years. This status can be renewed and allows for work authorization. Laurence Narcisi is a 34-year criminal defense attorney who works with immigrants and their cases with US immigration. Narcisi explained that three out of four of his grandparents were immigrants. He wanted to represent them in order to make a difference in their lives the way his grandparents made a difference in his. Narcisi had a goal in supporting these individuals and eventually helping them by paving the path towards their citizenship. Narcisi speaks more in depth about DACA and the United States’s immigration policy.
One story in particular stood out when speaking to DACA recipient, Josue Hernandez. He explains how his mom’s car was hit by another driver. When law enforcement came onto the scene, they ignored his mom and brought her to the station, even though she had not done anything wrong. After many hours of waiting and anxiety, the officer laughed, brushed it off, and told her that it was a misunderstanding. This is one of the many ways Hernandez and his family faced discrimination in our country. They were faced with these threats of deportation.
Immigrants face discrimination at the federal level as well. In September of 2017, Donald Trump announced that he would be ending the DACA program, which would inevitably force countless recipients to return to their countries of origin, despite having built their lives in the United States. While the DACA program has been secured once again, immigrants are still faced with the fear and uncertainty of possible deportation all the time.
Joana Cainglet 