By Simran Kalkat and Alyssa Barquin, Courier Editor-in-Chief and Courier Staff Writer
On September 5, President Trump announced the end to the DACA program.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program protects young undocumented immigrants so that they can work in the United States without the fear of deportation. With a school as diverse as James Logan, there are sure to be many students enrolled in the DACA program. Last week we talked to Mr. Edgar Pacheco, the family services assistant at James Logan High School who migrated to the United States at 13, and enrolled in the DACA program at 23.
Coming to America as an adolescent who didn’t know the language served as a disadvantage to him as he was behind his peers and was placed in EL classes.
“It feels like you don’t belong in this country, and also in this school, which is supposed to be like a second home to any of the students,” said Pacheco.
Due to difficulties such as the language barrier, Pacheco dropped out of high school in his junior year and took up a job at McDonald’s.
“I felt like I wasn’t doing something good for myself and the community, but I was stuck there because I didn’t have any other option,”
In hopes of getting his GED, Pacheco resumed his education at the New Haven Adult School. However, when he scored high on the first test, his teacher convinced him to take his GED right away which he passed on his first try. Pacheco then went straight to community college which proved to be difficult since he was unable to receive any financial aid, and had to pay for all classes, books and materials from pocket. After community college, he transferred to San Francisco State University. At that point DACA came into California and Pacheco was able to receive financial aid without worrying about any documentation. He went back to school for the sole purpose of giving back to his community.
“That was the whole purpose of me going back to school; I wanted to give back to my community. I knew that I could do so much more and […] I knew that I had so much more potential.” said Pacheco.
About two years ago, Pacheco began working for the New Haven Unified School District at Searles Elementary School, however, he switched to James Logan High School because he wanted the chance to work with students who were going through the problems that he had as a teenager in America.
“I want to motivate other students that have the same issues that I was dealing with growing up and try to make
sure they know that attending college, and graduating from college is possible, because when you come from another country, and you come here when you are a little bit older, you think that you probably will not be able to graduate from high school. And if that’s what you’re thinking then college is not even an option for you.” Pacheco said
Immigration reform has become a very polarizing and political issue in the past few years. There are many in this country that believe only legal immigration should be encouraged, making Trump’s actions regarding DACA permissible. However, often times the topic of immigration is much more complicated.
“Just imagine having to leave everything you had: your family members, our grandparents, I haven’t seen my grandparents in a long, long time. If we had to leave them, it’s because there was a strong reason for us to come here,” Pacheco said. “I don’t think anyone just wakes up in the morning and says ‘I’m going to move to a totally different country, just because I want to.’ […] That doesn’t happen. We’re here because there’s a necessity and we have no other option but to be here,”
Logan students on DACA have a few resources that they can turn to on campus. There is the Logan Family Center as well as school counselors who can provide students with any additional information they need. If anyone’s DACA is ending in the next six months before March 5, then they need to apply for it before October 5 otherwise they may lose their DACA.
Students under DACA who live in communities different from Logan where they do not have many resources still have options.
“We’re lucky to be living in a place where you can find everything online […] Everyone has a phone, so finding that place where they can get the support and resources that they need, they can definitely do that. I would tell [students under DACA] not to lose hope.”
For those that still believe that the DACA program should be brought to an end, Pacheco has a message
“We’re not criminals, we’re here to help the community and to do something positive, not just for the community but for the entire country, and that’s what we’re trying to do. We just want a chance to keep doing what we’re trying to do,”