On September 5, 2017, President Donald Trump rescinded DACA, effectively ending the future of hundreds of thousands people, unless activists and Congress can bring about some kind of change. The people here are activists working within the state to try and bring about change. These quotes are their thoughts on the importance of the immigration rights movement.
"To me the fight for DACA represents the power of brave, strategic organizing by young people of color. When all strategies of 'respectability' and 'acceptable' organizing and activism failed, radical tactics such as interrupting the president of the U.S.A's speeches got us results. It is hope and proof that we can win."
- Renato Calle; Willimantic community organizer & CT Working Families Party campaign manager
"DACA was able to give me the ability to work and have protection from deportation. We have to remember that it was fought for by undocumented youth. However when DACA was revoked, it gave me a sense of hopelessness. It was never a permanent solution but it was something. My work permit expires two months right after I graduate. Sometimes I think what's the point of getting a degree if I can't even use it to the full extent after I graduate? I struggle a lot with mental health. Having DACA revoked only added another negative factor to my mental health and has deteriorated since then. I will continue organizing but my priority is to take care of my mental health better as we all should."
- Joseline Guadalupe Tlacomulco; UConn student, DACA recipient & CT Students for a Dream leader
"The local immigrant rights movement needs funds too, and this is the main contribution of the Neighbor Fund. We raise money for people facing detention and deportation on account of their immigration status, and we help with legal fees and the cost of immigration paperwork as well. We also try to raise awareness of the larger issues of borders, myths about undocumented people, and economic devastation in the Americas, in the hope that this work will one day be unnecessary."
- Christopher Vials; UConn Associate Professor & Mansfield Neighbor Fund leader
"The immigrant rights movement has given me the space to come to terms with my status and my criminality, learning that I am not defined by my status or criminal record. Organizing has then enabled me to fight back against both of those things both through changing narratives but also pushing for laws, policies, and direct action that serves my community."
- Eric Cruz López; UConn student, former DACA recipient & CT Students for a Dream leader
"It is an immense privilege to work in solidarity with the undocumented youth activist leaders in organizations such as Connecticut Students for a Dream. These courageous, resilient, creative, brilliant individuals have taught me and other allies the importance of imagining and actively working toward a radically inclusive democracy. They confront an often racist, anti-immigrant country with audacity and hope, and show us the possibility of making a more just and free society."
- Mark Overmyer-Velázquez; Director of UConn Hartford & CT Students for a Dream leader
"For me the movement means fighting for everyone’s rights and deservingness to live with dignity and without fear. It means that families are not torn apart, that we are engaging the larger community and fighting for more comprehensive legislation."
- Katy Villeda; UConn student & CT Students for a Dream leader
"Working with immigrants of all ages and backgrounds in my community is crucial to the movement. Our movement is not just about undocumented students and the ideal immigrant but rather about all undocumented people. We are fighting for the human rights of our undocumented community as a whole."
- Vania Galicia; ECSU student, DACA recipient & Willimantic community organizer
"I’ve discovered that the movement’s importance is the liberation of all that it promises, that’s why I’m in it."
- Yeni Cortes; ECSU student & CT Students for a Dream leader
This photo essay was funded by a 2017 Romano Award for Human Rights Photojournalism through the Human Rights Institute at UConn.
Credits:
Amar Batra