What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
–Harlem, Langston Hughes
(Poem referenced by Kevin Ortiz)
When I first arrived at the DACA rally there was a scattering of people. Everyone standing around the elevated stage in front of the Student Union, holding signs that declared everything from, “Education not Deportation” to “United We Dream.”
While waiting for the rally to begin I was handed several leaflets, the first of which was a fact sheet entitled “DACA: What You Need to Know.” President Trump recently rescinded DACA but not everyone is aware the effects of that action. Beginning March 6th, 2018, the government will permit rolling deportations for permits that expire on or after this date. Dreamers who leave the United States will no longer be allowed to re-enter and new DACA applications will no longer be accepted. DACA students, known as Dreamers, are students who entered the country illegally as children and thanks to Obama era legislation were granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a reprieve from the threat of deportation.
Representatives from a variety of UCF clubs and communities were present at the rally. The National Organization of Women (NOW), The Student Labor Action Project (SLAP), The Youth and Young Adult Network of the National Farm Worker Ministry (YAYA), and the UCF College Democrats were responsible for organizing the event, but groups such as Knights for Socialism and Students Organize for Syria were also making their voices heard.
I took the time before the rally to socialize and talk to a few people and got to know several other people who were standing up for the Dreamers. A boy from Colombia who believes that immigrants “stick together,” a woman from Venezuela who “will no longer stand for injustice,” and a man who when asked why he was at this rally said “we are all people.”
Soon enough the chanting began. The girls on the megaphone began to call out “Hey Hey, Ho, Ho. DACA Students are here to stay!” and the crowd followed. The energy at this rally was unfettered by those who walked by without a second glance. We were all united for a common goal, to raise awareness about injustice befalling so many people. We transitioned from “Say it loud, Say it clear, DACA students are welcome here!” to “The People, united will never be defeated” in both English and Spanish.
When the chanting finally began to die down, the speakers stepped up to the podium. Representative Carlos Guillermo Smith was the first to be introduced. Wearing a UCF shirt and an LGBT Pride ribbon, he was greeted with shouts, people calling out his name, before proclaiming that he was a “Proud progressive, feminist, gay, latino, democrat” and the “son of immigrant parents,” only to be met with more cheers. As representative of District 49 he represents us, the UCF students. He spoke about the movement at UCF to support all human beings, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and citizenship and give everyone the respect and love they deserve. For Orange County, which he represents, he told us that there were over 8,000 DACA recipients in danger of losing their status. Bringing it even closer to home, over 132 of our fellow Knights are DACA recipient. These are your friends, he said to us. “Do you stand with them? Will you fight for their rights,” he called before once again leading us in a chant of “DACA students are welcome here.”
The representative however, was not finished. This was a call to action. He wants to let the people know that DACA recipients are taxpayers, they are hardworking, they are taking care of their families, they are taking care of their communities, and that they were out in the streets after Hurricane Irma volunteering to help rebuild their cities. He asked us to “hold our elected officials accountable.” He was referring to our Governor, Rick Scott, who has “gently urged his best friend, Donald Trump” to reconsider continuing the DACA program. But he would not just spout rhetoric, and he would not alienate the right. According to a poll conducted from April 20th to April 24th 2017, more than 73% of Trump voters support our Dreamers. He asked us all to speak out and said he would do the same, before introducing his “good friend” and DACA recipient “Eli” Garcia.
“I have a deadline,” She told us, “When my DACA expires everything is going to change.” I, and others around me, were touched by her words as she placed a hand over her heart and said, “My heart beats the same as all of you. I feel as American as all of you.” But she did not stand there unafraid. Her fear was after leaving that rally, someone could walk up to her and know she was an immigrant, know she was undocumented, know she was “Illegal.” But she would not let that stop her. She is fighting, not only for herself, but for other Dreamers who are in the same place as her, and for her parents. Who worked hard to get her here. I had never heard such a powerful account from a DACA recipient. She told us her story. It has been 17 years since she has hugged her grandparents, seen her family, and visited her country. But that is the sacrifice she makes to follow her dreams, because she knows she belongs here. Eli wants to finish her degree, become a social worker, and help others. All she asks of us is “tell the President to stand with dreamers, call [our] congressperson and tell them to pass a Dream act, because [she] is not leaving without a fight and [she] will bring the heat.”
Next, The president of Dreamers at UCF, Kevin Ortiz, approached the stage. A dreamer himself, he had graduated Colonial High School in Orlando in 2008 on the road to a higher education. But DACA did not exist then. He called his path that of a “Deferred Dream,” in essence put on hold and he held off on attending college. In 2012, thanks to the legislation by then President Barack Obama, he was able to pursue his education at Valencia College in 2014 before transferring to UCF to finish his degree. He told us, “we have 66,000 students, without a doubt, we were bound to have dreamers.” He took it onto himself to create an organization that could be a safe place for everyone, to bridge the gap between faculty and students, and to advocate for a permanent solution for Dreamers that provides a path to citizenship. Before finishing, he sad he wanted to send a message to administration. This is that message:
“We want to make sure that the administration stands with us, but we have
not seen that in writing just yet. The call here is: we want the leadership at UCF
to announce that they support their DACA population at the university, and that
they will do everything in their power to make sure that every student at UCF
celebrates the UCF creed, and celebrates community, creating a safe environment
for students of all backgrounds. DACA students or not.”
Amid more cheers, Representative Amy Mercado, of District 48, took the stage. Also representing us in the capitol, she said “I stand with you, and support you, and I will stand for your rights.” Within the rights she enumerated, were the rights to education, to be at peace, and to remain in this country. One of the ways Representative Mercado is supporting the undocumented community is through House Bill 1061, which would allow undocumented immigrants to use official documentation from other countries in order to apply for a drivers license. This legislation was vetoed by Rick Scott, even though it would facilitate transportation for the immigrant population. Mercado said to the crowd, “we need you to be on the road safely, we need you to be on the road insured, we need you to be on the road without getting distracted about being on the road unlicensed. You have enough stresses in your life as our future, we should not be adding more.” She promised to pursue this legislation and has refiled it. Another legislation that she is working for is House Bill 1341, which would provide in state tuition for undocumented students, Dreamers, and those with temporary protected status (TPS). She then asked something of us. In return for the work she and her fellow representative were doing in tallahassee, she wants us to, “keep going forward.” She commended is in standing by our growth, our drive, and our passion, saying that we were her inspiration to fight. To finish she told us, “I am a proud hispanic. I am a proud puerto rican woman. I was born here. I didn’t choose to be American. Just like any of you. You are as American as I am and I will fight for your rights as if they were my own. My office is your office. I stand with you.”
The microphone was then passed down to Sofia, Secretary of the College Democrats. “I came here when I was 7 years,” She told us, “I was luckier than most, to come on a tourist visa. Well 12 years later I guess you could say I overstayed my welcome a little.” Although she managed to joke about it, soon she began to tear up with emotion. She told us her story. Her parents brought her here for an education as well as in search of security. They had had a rough life in Mexico and they wanted more for their child. When she began to cry, speaking about the sacrifices her parents made for her, someone in the crowd called out and the chants caught on. First, cries of “We love you,” and then “Here to stay.” But this story doesn’t end with her, many people across the country sacrificed so much in order to live here, and they give so much to this country every day. Yet, they are still degraded, discriminated against, and even deported. Sofia got involved in college to make a difference. She worked on the florida coordinated campaign, for Representative Stephanie Murphy, and currently is an intern with Anna Eskamani. The reason? In hopes that although she cannot vote, she can help others use their voice in order to make a better America.
Karen Caudillo was the last person to speak to us today. She has spoken out about DACA before, having been interviewed at a Congressional Democrats DACA event. I had seen the video on twitter and identified with her sadness and fear, and seeing her in person shook my core. She was brought to the United States when she was four years old. She attended an American elementary school, middle school, and high school. Living here has been an identity battle for her, never having left the country, yet knowing the heritage, culture, and language of her ancestry. She told us, “There are people who try to make it seem like we don’t belong here, when we have never known anywhere else,” but that she has never felt more welcome than at UCF. This brought forth cries of “Estamos contigo, Karen.” We are with you, Karen. Karen called us to be resilient. 800,000 DACA recipients are currently living in the U.S. Without legislation, come March 6th, those people could be sent back to a country they have never known at a moments notice. Karen had begun to cry, her younger sister, had been born in the United States, automatically making her a citizen. If her parents were to be deported, she would become her younger sister’s guardian. Holding back tears, she told us that if she were deported, her little sister would become an orphan. The end of DACA, and the difficult path to citizenship tears families apart. Caudillo finished her speech with a few gems. Education, not deportation. We are all here to stay. And finally, “I lot of people criticized Martin Luther King Jr. at the time. Protesting has never been popular, but those people didn’t give a fuck!”
We were then called over to sign a large cloth sign that read “Don’t make this Dream turn into a Nightmare.” I proudly picked up a pink marker and signed my name. The sign’s destination was the office of Senator Marco Rubio. Son of immigrants, this sign is how we are asking him to stand by DACA, stand by the Dreamers, and stand by immigrants everywhere in the United States.
The rally ended as it began, with chants. The crowd, inspired by the voices before them began to cry, “Say it loud, say it clear. DACA students are welcome here!” And the march began. Toting signs and raising their voices, this group of UCF students paraded across campus, letting everyone know that they would stand by the Dreamers.