DACA Renewal for my sister Grecia

To my family and friends,

I normally don’t do things like this but, due to recent events, I don’t feel I have much of a choice.  This is a plea on behalf of my sister.  We were born to the same parents and raised in the same neighborhoods and went to the same schools and had the same friends.  Southern California is and always has been our home.  By all accounts, we’ve had the exact same upbringing.  There is one big difference, however:  I was born here and she was not.


My sister is an immigrant, though she would never have known this if she hadn’t been told.  She was born in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico but was brought to the United States at such a young age that she has no recollection of ever living anywhere else.  She attended school in California since kindergarten.  She was and still is an excellent student.  In high school, she was ASB President as a sophomore and received an honorable mention for her chemistry project entry in the Los Angeles County Science Fair.  She was an honor student throughout high school and on top of that was in choir and on the dance team.  Her grades and extracurriculars were so impressive that she was accepted into every university that she applied to, including UCLA, UCSB, and Whittier College. Unfortunately, our family’s situation did not allow her to attend any of those schools, but she still maintained the same degree of success at Long Beach City College.  As a full-time student, she excelled in her coursework and still managed to find the time for two jobs (one of which being a chemistry lab tech assistant at LBCC), being an active member of the Geology Club, serving on the Sustainability Fair Committee, working with impoverished communities in Los Angeles as a volunteer for Youth for Environmental Justice, and her own passions as a musician, artist, and performer.  This last weekend, she moved away from home for the first time to continue her education at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo where she is pursuing a degree in environmental science.


Unfortunately, due to the recent rescinding of the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, the deadline for my sister to renew her permit has moved up to October 5th.  The $495 it costs to renew (plus the 5%  additional fee through GoFundMe) may not sound like a lot of money, but for two college students that just moved away from home for the first time and are working to pay the bills and put ourselves through school, it’s a bit more than we can manage at the moment.  If she doesn’t get her DACA protections renewed, she will no longer be able to work and won’t be able to afford to continue her education.  Worse, she may face the possibility of deportation to a country that she doesn’t know.


My sister is selfless and proud.  We’ve worked hard for what we have and aren’t accustomed to asking for handouts.  We have lived, learned, worked, struggled, and pursued our dreams side by side since the day I was born.  It breaks my heart that she faces so much more difficulty than I do; all because she happened to be born on the opposite side of the border.  If you are able, please help me in raising the funds to renew her DACA permit.  All I want is for my sister to be able to keep working and continue educating herself.  She has the ability to thrive and be a productive member of society.  It would mean the world to me if she continued to have the opportunity to do so.  Thank you for your time and any assistance you can provide.


Sincerely,


A sister of a DREAMER