Immigrant Youth Come Together

Visit the IYJL website at www.iyjl.org

“Undocumented. Unafraid.” This declaration can be found on the T-shirts of teenagers and young adults in the Immigrant Youth Justice League. In Chicago, the IYJL is fighting to achieve justice for young immigrants. Brought to the United States as children, many of them have gone to American schools since kindergarten. Now, as high school graduates, they want to pursue their education and careers alongside their classmates, who are making plans for college.

However, undocumented immigrants are denied federal financial aid, so many of the bright, motivated students who have always called America their home are now unable to go any further in their educations. The members of IYJL are working to promote the passage of the Dream Act, which would grant temporary legal status to students, on the condition that they went to a university, completed a program to get a degree, or served in the military.

I heard the stories of several young adult members of IYJL. One girl talked about how excited she was about going to college, and how shocked and sad she was to find out that because she was undocumented, she couldn’t get any financial aid for school. She worked hard and was able to save up enough money to take two classes, and although she is still far from getting a college diploma or a degree, she continues to work with plans of taking classes a few at a time.

A man in his twenties talked about how ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) had started deportation proceedings on him, and had temporarily halted his deportation only because of his young son, a United States citizen. However, his case is up for review in a year. His son was with him that night at the IYLJ meeting. At one point, when he got tired of playing, he came and gave his dad a hug and rested his head on his dad’s shoulder. What would this boy do if his dad was deported?

The Immigrant Youth Justice League’s action and determination are inspiring. They are fighting every day for the Dream Act to be passed, for comprehensive immigration reform, and for their families to be kept together and kept safe. I hope that their dreams, and the dreams of students here in Yancey County, can become realities.