DREAMers’ nightmare: Where do we go now?

Since Donald Trump was elected president earlier this month, Maria Hernandez and her sister, Maritza, have been left with a feeling of uncertainty.

The sisters are DREAMers, individuals who meet the general requirements of the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. In 2001, the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 1403, also known as the Texas DREAM Act, which extends in-state tuition and grants eligibility to non-citizen residents of the state, according to forabettertexas.org.

UTRGV freshman Maritza Hernandez, who has lived in the U.S. since she was 2 years old, said she does not know what the president-elect will do when it comes to the DREAM Act because he “keeps changing his mind.”

“In one occasion, he was all like, ‘I’m going to take it away,’” the 21-year-old said. “And, right now, he’s saying only the criminals, you know, people who have done something against the law. So, it’s just uncertain, I don’t know what to do, whether to stay or to leave or what, you know?”

Trump’s campaign website states he will “immediately terminate President [Barack] Obama’s two illegal executive amnesties.”

This refers to Obama’s 2014 executive actions, in which he expanded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, a policy that provides young people who were brought to the United States as children with temporary protection from deportation if they can demonstrate that they meet several criteria, according to whitehouse.gov. In addition, parents of U.S. citizens and green-card holders may sign up for the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) program.

Rossy Evelin Lima, coordinator of Red DACA, a coalition of the Latin American Foundation of Arts and the Mexican Consulate at McAllen that provides free information to DACA recipients, said that the overall number of DREAMers in the Valley is unknown, and to count them could mean putting them at risk.

“Statistically, it would be better to count them, but from a social standpoint we also have to protect this community, and to count them might be putting them at risk from people who are not in favor of these kind of proposals,” Lima said.

At UTRGV, 938 DREAMers are enrolled.

“Every student at UTRGV is wanted,” said Kristin Croyle, vice president for Student Success. “I mean that in the broad sense; we want every student that we’ve got and we support them, and right now I think the president is considering what we can do at the university level to best advocate and support those students. Public institutions have a responsibility to speak out about what we know to be the facts, but we are limited in our political advocacy abilities.”

Croyle said although no students have approached her about feeling scared or uncertain about President-elect Trump, she understands that there may be distress among the campus community because of the presidential election.

“Oftentimes, those students turn to the faculty and staff that they already work closely with for support,” she said. “They may not come to the administration, just like a faculty mentor. … Just because I haven’t had any students approach me, I have heard from some faculty that they are supporting students who are concerned.”

Maritza Hernandez said she would not mind leaving to Mexico, but worries about her mother, who is sick.

“For me, I really don’t care about myself or what happens, but I’m worried about my mother because she is sick and she has to go through dialysis,” Hernandez said. “She is diabetic. She has optical issues. So, for me, I can go to Mexico and make my life over there, but her? She needs all of this medical attention and is receiving it here. If we go to Mexico, we’re going to have to start all over again.”

The 28-year-old said not all immigrants are the same.

“Not every Mexican that comes here, not every immigrant that comes here is a criminal,” she said. “I don’t know if [Donald Trump] considers me a criminal. … All these years, I’ve been working hard,” said Maria Hernandez, who worked many extra hours in order to pay for her two associate degrees in education from UTB/TSC because she did not qualify for many grants. “It cost me tears.”

Maria Hernandez, who didn’t know she could even go to college, enrolled in Texas Southmost College as soon as she graduated from high school.

In order to qualify for DACA, she had to prove she lived in Texas and submit a police signature.

“We want them to know about the people investing in this country. … People think we don’t pay taxes, that we’re only living under food stamps, Medicaid and unemployment,” she said.

Throughout her life she has heard harsh comments such as “Why are you taking American jobs?” and “You don’t sound like an American.”

“It’s hard to have all those comments. …. [I] hope Trump thinks about all those things,” Maria Hernandez said.

Regarding the possibility of going back to Mexico, she said it would be hard for her to go back to Matamoros because all her education is here. “We have discrimination in our own country.”

Maria Hernandez said she reapplied for the DACA program but has not heard back.