I had never really considered what life would be like for someone who wasn’t born in this country but had lived almost their entire lives in the United States.  Last week’s Becker Rose cafe changed that for me.

I had never heard of the Dream Act.  I had no idea was DOCA was and I certainly didn’t understand why any of this was important.  I understand now why so many undocumented youth would have a problem with a bill, that although it might have been well meant, does more harm than good.  It paints a picture that only undocumented youth pursing an education are the only ones “worthy” of being allowed to stay or work in the US.  The bill also puts a negative stigma around the parents of undocumented youth by criminalizing them.  The language used suggests that the youth were brought to the US through no fault of their own and many undocumented youth do not want their parents to be criminalized.

I think the talk really helped open my eyes to other peoples struggles and problems.  I had never heard of this movement before and I don’t know if I would have heard it otherwise had I not gone.