How DACA has directly benefited my life in many ways by Jimmy Franco

Sep 7, 2017 | Blog

Good afternoon everyone today I am here to talk to you about me and how DACA has directly benefited my life in many ways.
I was born in Mexico City and I was brought to this country at the age of 4. Who remembers when they were four years old? Because I dont, it’s such a faint memory of when I came to the United States quite frankly I don’t remember at all.
I know my parents did it with the best intentions for me to have a better and brighter future. This is the only country I have known and love. I grew up in crossville a small town in northeast Alabama.
The people that I went to high school with will forever be with me not only because they were the people I graduated with but because they all treated me like a friend, they made me feel welcome. a lot of them being white I was their only Hispanic friend and they didn’t see me differently. They didn’t see color, religion, or legal status. The time came that everyone was applying for college and scholarships. I was not applying for either because of my status. I went straight into the work force working long hours doing construction work And even though I was helping out my family, it wasn’t what I wanted, I wanted to go to school obtain my degree and pursue a career in dentistry.
June 2012 president Obama passed the executive order known as DACA or deferred action for childhood arrival. This opened a big window of opportunity for me I obtained my drivers license, I got a job, and I also started at Snead state community college in boaz Alabama, and here I am today continuing my education in a great institution that is The University of Alabama in Birmingham.
The trump administration announced yesterday that they will be terminating DACA and congress has 6 months to decide on what they want to do with me and 800,000 other dreamers.
My dream is to be accepted into dental school and become a dentist to help families of low income with dental care. I thank god everyday for giving me everything that I have and all the opportunities that I have had that others might have not had.
Thank you to HICA, the southern poverty law center and other groups that have contributed to defending my people, my raza. we must stand together, as a community, as a school, AS A FAMILY! Because like it says in many of our texts books, our documents and our currency, E PLURIBUS UNUM, “out of many! ONE!”