By Alanna Dent, Staff Writer
This week’s installment of the Let’s Talk series held the goal of educating students on the significance of DACA and the effects caused by it’s termination.
The event was standing room only since it had attracted students, educators, and even the newly inaugurated president, Jonathan Green.
The Center for Intercultural and Community Engagement, The Johnson Center for Civic Engagement, and the Association for Latino and American Students combined forces on Tuesday to bring political science department head Michele DeMary and associate professor of history Maria Munoz to the Shearer Dining Rooms located in Degenstein Campus Center on Oct. 24. The purpose of this luncheon was to discuss the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
According to Georgetown Law, “DACA provides a 2-year deferment from deportation actions and provides eligibility for a work permit.” There are requirements for participation, such as a requirement that prohibits applicants with a criminal record, as well as a requirement that every applicant must have completed high school, or have been honorably discharged from the U.S. armed forces.
DeMary acknowledged the fact that the program has been terminated by President Trump, but made it clear that “congress makes laws, not presidents.”
She also explained that President Trump gave a six month deadline to congress to work on the program.
According to DeMary, after this six month deadline, the future is unclear for those who have benefited from DACA.
“It doesn’t mean people are necessarily going to be deported, but it makes it much more possible for them to be deported.”
DeMary finished her portion of the event by encouraging the attendees to contact their legislators and urge them to make a pathway toward citizenship for those who have been involved in the program.
Munoz joined the conversation by moving away from the legislation itself and focusing on those who are affected by it. Munoz stated: “We are talking about a cross-racial mobilization as well. It’s not just Latinos, it’s Asian populations, it’s black populations, and to a small degree it’s white populations as well, [meaning] people from Europe.”
Munoz stated that these people are affected ways that we do not often think about. She says that in many states, there are laws that prohibit the government profit of any undocumented citizens.
While discussing colleges, Munoz stated: “They are not eligible for grants, federal grants, state grants, or loans.”
Partially because of this, Munoz spoke to the attendees of the luncheon about Tam Tran and Cinthya Felix.
These two women were undocumented citizens who were studying to earn doctoral degrees when they were killed in a car accident. The two women were heroes of the Undocumented and Unafraid, a movement for young undocumented individuals to advocate for the changes they need.
Munoz showed a brief video about Tran and Felix,titled“Undocumented and Unafraid: Tam Tran, Cinthya Felix, and the Immigrant Youth Movement.”
In this video, we see Tran share her personal experience of being an undocumented citizen. Tran states that her parents escaped the Vietnam war by escaping to Germany, where she was born. Shortly after, they moved to America to reunite with family.
“Once we got here, we applied for political asylum,” Tran said. “Well on the day of my high school graduation, and after living here for 12 years, our petition was denied. We were given a deportation order, but Germany wouldn’t accept us because we’re not German.”
When asked about her experience at the Let’s Talk, senior Lauren Perone said: “It was amazing to see so many people in a packed room and seeing people from different organizations and clubs coming together and talking about what is going on in the world.”
DeMary holds a bachelor’s degree from Marquette University as well as a doctoral degree from The University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Munoz holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of La Verne, a master’s degree from the University of Nebraska Lincoln, as well as a doctoral degree from Arizona.
