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Mary Tablante
"If you’re undocumented, you face barriers in access to everything. You could be doing so well in school, but you can’t get a driver’s license, you can’t get your work permit, you can’t apply for the jobs that you’re capable of doing…undocumented people have to work a lot harder to even get close to achieving their goals. There are so many restrictions to the current DACA program; you have to be of a certain age."
"For undocumented AAPIs, it’s an invisibility problem…another struggle is that they have to deal with the [Model Minority] Myth and all of the stereotypes. Families, they may not necessarily want to speak up or reveal their status for fear of deportation."
"Even for those who are DACA eligible, as an Asian American, they may feel hesitant to apply, because they might find out that their parents are here and don’t have any papers. This motivates me to work for the community; even though my dad was lucky enough to petition us as a family, I know that not everyone is that fortunate, and it could’ve happened to me as well."
"Once they realize that there are organizations like us [NCAPA], AAJC, and NAKASEC, that there are people out there than can help them, that people are sharing their stories, parents of undocumented individuals will finally realize that it could really affect them in their struggle to finally obtain legal status. The more voices that are out there, the more likely that something will move and more reform will happen. It just takes a lot of time and effort on a personal level to get AAPI parents to open up."
"To create change, we need to be more visible and really get together, write to our local officials, and definitely vote in this election. Do your research as to which members of Congress or your representatives really care about immigration. Voting in general is huge, and using your ability to vote as somebody who is eligible to vote to speak for those who aren’t is one of the top things that we can do now, especially as the court is split."
"While DACA and DAPA are great, they are not enough to address the problems of visa backlogs and deportation. We need to activate ourselves so that we can get our stories out, really amplify what we already have and the resources that are already there and try to build off of them. We need to do more organizing, specifically in immigration, what needs to change is having a clear pathway to citizenship and realizing these outdated laws from the 60s aren’t cutting it in our modern age. We need to get it out there that immigrants really do power the nation."
"There aren’t many stories out there that say what happens to DACA recipients after they’ve completed the program. DACA gives temporary relief from deportation, but people are still in limbo. It’s not helping at all that immigration hasn’t been moving in the last few years since DACA was launched."
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