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Armenta
Selina
I am a sister from the Alpha Kappa chapter at the University of Wisconsin and I was initiated April 17th 2015. I am 21 years old and I am a DACA recipient.
How old were you when you came to the United States, and do you remember much of your home country? I was three years old when I immigrated to the United States to meet my family. I don’t remember much about my home country because I was so young. There are a few special moments that I remember vaguely but that’s mostly because we have pictures of them. I do remember the day I left to come to the U.S. to meet my parents. I remember that everyone else seemed very sad and worried, but I was excited because I would see my mom and dad again. I did not quite understand that my trip to meet my parents would be so permanent, I did not understand how far I would be traveling or the fact that I would never see some of my family members again.
How did you find out that you were undocumented?
I don’t really remember finding out that I was undocumented, I think I always knew but did not understand what it meant or how it made me different. It was not something I really ever discussed with anyone, I had friends and family that were undocumented and others that weren’t, life seemed to be normal for all of us from my perspective. In 2006 my parents took me to my first immigrant rally/march and I think that’s when I began to understand some of the challenges that my community and my own family faced. Later, in 8th grade I found out I was ineligible for a pre-college program because I lacked a social security number. This is when I began to learn more about what being undocumented in the state of Wisconsin meant for a student like myself. It was very discouraging. I had always been a high achieving student but going into high school I didn’t even think college was going to be attainable for me given that I was undocumented and that my family was low income.
What do you prefer to be referred by?
DACA Recipient, DACAmented, or Undocumented
How has the announcement about DACA being appealed changed your life? How does it make you feel? The rescinding of DACA was a huge disappointment, although I was not surprised and had been preparing for the worst ever since the election. To be honest I don’t know how to describe my feelings