Trump canceled DACA, what’s next for me?
By Karen Reyes
Karen Reyes, a teacher and AFT member from Austin, Texas, testified to members of Congress on the one-year anniversary of the day Trump canceled DACA. Here is her story, based on that testimony.
I am an American. I might be an undocumented American, but I am an American. I came to this country when I was 2 years old, and I have not gone back to Mexico in over 20 years. I grew up here. I formed a life here. I made friends here. I received my education here.
As an undocumented student, I didn’t always know what being undocumented meant. When I did, I knew it was going to be a challenge to do what my mother told me: to “work hard and follow your dreams.” She always said anything is possible with hard work.
And the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program allowed me to do just that. DACA made me visible. It validated my existence, my hard work and my contributions to my community. It allowed me the opportunity to pursue my dreams of becoming a classroom teacher.
I remember the fear and anxiety of Sept. 5, 2017, one year ago today, when the Trump administration and Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the termination of DACA. I knew that the announcement was not going to be good, but I had to go about my day like it was any other. I am a teacher, and my students come first. I started getting text messages that morning but refused to look at them until my students went to lunch. I didn’t break down until I saw my mom, who joined me for a rally in Austin.
I spoke at that rally — and I laid it all out. My colleagues and anyone who knew me now had officially been told that I was undocumented. I wasn’t scared. I became empowered.
How can we expect students to sit in class, to learn, to thrive, if they are unsure about their future?
Fast forward a year. Have things changed? Yes. The decision to rescind DACA has had a huge impact on both students and educators. Many of my students — 3- to 5-year-olds who are deaf/hard of hearing — come from mixed status families, and many parents have DACA. President Trump’s divisive, xenophobic rhetoric and anti-immigrant policies are fomenting fear in their communities.
How can we expect students to sit in class, to learn, to thrive, if they are unsure about their future? They don’t know if their families will still be home when they get off school. How can we expect parents to participate in back-to-school activities or parent-teacher night when rumors of an ICE raid have spread throughout the community?
I was able to renew my DACA, but what’s next? We have to empower each other, lift each other up. The same way we’re creating ICE-free zones and sanctuary spaces, we need to encourage our allies to vote, to run for office, to stop the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S Supreme Court. We can’t have someone on the bench who believes that people like me don’t have constitutional rights. And we must ask our allies to be disrupters and to lobby in favor of a permanent solution, like the Dream Act.
The same way we’re creating ICE-free zones and sanctuary spaces, we need to encourage our allies to vote, to run for office, to stop the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S Supreme Court.
We have to continue to work together for solutions that move the country forward without division and fear. There’s no turning back for me or the 800,000 individuals impacted by the termination of DACA. I’m optimistic that Congress will muster the political courage to get the job done. Congress must act.
When times get tough, I draw my strength from my mom and the undocumented youth who continue to rise up. Like the saying goes, “They tried to bury us, but they didn’t know we were seeds.” We are not going anywhere. If this last year has taught me anything, it is this: We are powerful, we are resilient and, most of all, we are #HereToStay.
Karen Reyes is a DACAmented educator and union activist with Education Austin. This post is based on her testimony presented on Sept. 5, the anniversary of the termination of DACA, during a hearing for members of Congress.
To keep up with other AFT news read AFT Voices and join our e-newletter list.
