This Thanksgiving, as I reflect on the past year, I realize that one of the things in my life for which I’m most grateful is something I used to take completely for granted: I am thankful for my citizenship.
More specifically, I’m thankful for the privileges that come with my citizenship. I am thankful for being able to study, and work in the country where I was raised and have built my life. I am thankful for the many opportunities I have to develop my skills and knowledge base and to give back to my community. I am thankful for being able to plan for a future with my family and friends.
Right now in the US, these privileges are more readily available to citizens than to immigrant members of our communities. Undocumented immigrants in particular face significant barriers to enjoying them. However, legal citizenship is often different than effective citizenship. While all undocumented immigrants lack the legal documents of state-recognized citizenship, many of them are youth who grew up in the US and are effectively “American.” These youth urgently yearn for the most basic and noble privileges of citizenship or legal status in this country: the opportunity to study, work, and give back to the country where they grew up.
In the next few weeks, Congress will have the opportunity to decide whether or not the opportunities outlined above will be granted to the over 2 million undocumented students. The DREAM Act would give these youth the opportunity to study or join the military so that they are fully able to give back to their communities and serve the country where they grew up. With these additional contributions, the nation as a whole would benefit. Hopefully, if we all stand up and voice our support for undocumented students, next year at this time, these youth, their families, friends, and communities will be able to look back at this winter and give thanks for the DREAM Act's full passage.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Sunday, November 7, 2010
I have a DREAM
When I first started medical school this past fall, I decided it would be a good idea to find some mentors at my school who shared my interest in immigrant health. So, modern girl that I am, I hopped online and entered “immigrant health Harvard Medical School” into my search browser.
Two of the first hits I had were for news stories on Dr. Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa and Dr. Harold Fernandez, both immigrants to the US, graduates of Harvard Medical School and now prominent physicians in the field. But that’s not all they have in common. As I read further, I learned that both of these physicians shared one other important feature: they both lived many years in the US and attended college as undocumented immigrants.
I was shocked. I had never really thought about what an undocumented immigrant would do if they wanted to go to medical school. Wouldn’t they be afraid of being found out and being deported? And yet, these prominent physicians had motivation and drive. They were able to make it through school, regularize their status, and now dedicate their lives to advancing medical practice in the US.
Today, there are many undocumented students throughout the United States who, like Drs. Quinones-Hinojosa and Fernandez, are intelligent and motivated to pursue higher education. However, not everyone is lucky enough to have access to the opportunities that these men did. Many institutions refuse to admit undocumented students, and the federal government refuses to provide them with financial aid. As a result of these barriers, only a fraction of the 65,000 undocumented students that graduate high school each year goes on to pursue higher education. The rest are left with few options: to work without papers, remain unemployed, or go back to their country of origin. For most undocumented high school graduates who were raised in the US and have their families here, even this last option is hardly feasible.
Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be this way. The DREAM Act, a proposed federal law with broad public support, would provide undocumented students who were brought to the US before they were 16 and have been in the country for 5 years or longer, the opportunity to attend college or join the military without the barriers that come with being “undocumented.” It also provides a pathway to citizenship for youth that successfully complete their service or studies, to help ensure that they can work in their areas of specialty and continue to benefit our country. According to the Migration Policy Institute, an estimated 825,000 individuals would be affected by this legislation.
As I start off in my medical career, I feel privileged to have the opportunity to study and fulfill my own dreams. I am grateful for the social security number I was issued upon birth; I am grateful for the federal loans and grants that I depend on to get through school, an investment in my future. At the same time, I realize that many of my peers, over 2 million youth, have not been afforded the same opportunities due to their undocumented status. These youth are my neighbors, friends, and future colleagues.
So now, I have a new dream: that the DREAM Act be passed. With the DREAM Act in place, all of us will benefit. We will have more excellent doctors in our communities, more youth in school, and move one step closer towards recognizing the value and humanity of undocumented immigrants in our society.
Two of the first hits I had were for news stories on Dr. Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa and Dr. Harold Fernandez, both immigrants to the US, graduates of Harvard Medical School and now prominent physicians in the field. But that’s not all they have in common. As I read further, I learned that both of these physicians shared one other important feature: they both lived many years in the US and attended college as undocumented immigrants.
I was shocked. I had never really thought about what an undocumented immigrant would do if they wanted to go to medical school. Wouldn’t they be afraid of being found out and being deported? And yet, these prominent physicians had motivation and drive. They were able to make it through school, regularize their status, and now dedicate their lives to advancing medical practice in the US.
Today, there are many undocumented students throughout the United States who, like Drs. Quinones-Hinojosa and Fernandez, are intelligent and motivated to pursue higher education. However, not everyone is lucky enough to have access to the opportunities that these men did. Many institutions refuse to admit undocumented students, and the federal government refuses to provide them with financial aid. As a result of these barriers, only a fraction of the 65,000 undocumented students that graduate high school each year goes on to pursue higher education. The rest are left with few options: to work without papers, remain unemployed, or go back to their country of origin. For most undocumented high school graduates who were raised in the US and have their families here, even this last option is hardly feasible.
Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be this way. The DREAM Act, a proposed federal law with broad public support, would provide undocumented students who were brought to the US before they were 16 and have been in the country for 5 years or longer, the opportunity to attend college or join the military without the barriers that come with being “undocumented.” It also provides a pathway to citizenship for youth that successfully complete their service or studies, to help ensure that they can work in their areas of specialty and continue to benefit our country. According to the Migration Policy Institute, an estimated 825,000 individuals would be affected by this legislation.
As I start off in my medical career, I feel privileged to have the opportunity to study and fulfill my own dreams. I am grateful for the social security number I was issued upon birth; I am grateful for the federal loans and grants that I depend on to get through school, an investment in my future. At the same time, I realize that many of my peers, over 2 million youth, have not been afforded the same opportunities due to their undocumented status. These youth are my neighbors, friends, and future colleagues.
So now, I have a new dream: that the DREAM Act be passed. With the DREAM Act in place, all of us will benefit. We will have more excellent doctors in our communities, more youth in school, and move one step closer towards recognizing the value and humanity of undocumented immigrants in our society.
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