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Minsu

“I didn’t know I was undocumented until I was in 5th grade. I didn’t even know what that meant. But I actually slowly understood when I was in 8th grade, when we were taking civics as a class. You can vote if you’re a citizen.  And I asked my mom, 'Are we citizens?'"

“I slowly understood what it meant to be undocumented and what were all the disadvantages I had. Basically there were no advantages."

“I don’t know why I was embarrassed. I was embarrassed to show myself to my friends. While they all got licenses, they all voted...I had to stay behind and not go to college and not do anything they could because of their status. I essentially felt I was being left behind."

“​So DACA helps us go to Korea or another foreign country, but it’s not a guaranteed way to come back to America…I don’t have the security of coming back to America again. I can’t go to Korea that I cherish and love. I don’t know who I really am, I don’t know my origins."

"Koreans, they’re very private. Let’s say that someone figures out that someone is undocumented. There would be shock...like he can’t vote, he came here illegally, he’s an illegal. They don’t know their situation; they’re not in their shoes. They don’t have a right to judge another person, but Koreans tend to be very judgmental. It just shows what I think… it hurts the feelings of the person who is undocumented."

“When someone asks me if I’m a citizen, if I can vote... I wish I could say [yes].. I really want to vote. I really want to be a part of American society. But I have no power. I have no voice."

“No one has time for cheap words, they need action."

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