Broken Promises, Broken Dreams
By DREAMers’ Sara Ramirez and Fernando Dorantes
“We arrived in Washington D.C. on Tuesday around 1 A.M. on a nonstop flight from Oregon --exhausted but equally excited!!! To facilitate our trip, we made and sold over 600 hundred delicious tamales the weekend before we left. We wanted to work and fund our own trip and prove to ourselves that we deserve to be here. After only sleeping a couple of hours, we were up and ready to begin our training with the “Keep Families Together” Summit, and hopefully meet with our Oregon Representative, Greg Walden.
Before coming to D.C., we attempted to make numerous appointments online, but received no response. However, to our surprise at 10 A.M., we actually received a call from his office asking if we wanted to meet with one of his aids at 3:30 P.M. So in a heartbeat, we said “YES!”. We showed up early and to our surprise Congressman Walden himself was there to meet with us.
In the meeting, we shared our personal stories about our families with a straight and honest attitude. His response seemed genuine but vague; giving us hope that an immigration reform was in sight. We left accomplished and proud, only to be deceived by his vote the next day in favor of the “Enforce Act” (HR 4138) which would repeal the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and put myself and other DREAMers at risk for deportation.
Congressman Walden's vote has proven once again that he is unwilling to work with us on immigration reform. He knows we are DREAMers with families that have been broken by immigration; yet he still has the tenacity to raise his hand for the “Enforce Act”. As we reflect on this political “stunt”, we are not afraid to continue the fight against this broken immigration system. Congressman Greg Walden has just added more fuel to our fire and we will make sure there are major repercussions in his district regarding his stance on immigration."
By DREAMers’ Sara Ramirez and Fernando Dorantes
“We arrived in Washington D.C. on Tuesday around 1 A.M. on a nonstop flight from Oregon --exhausted but equally excited!!! To facilitate our trip, we made and sold over 600 hundred delicious tamales the weekend before we left. We wanted to work and fund our own trip and prove to ourselves that we deserve to be here. After only sleeping a couple of hours, we were up and ready to begin our training with the “Keep Families Together” Summit, and hopefully meet with our Oregon Representative, Greg Walden.
Before coming to D.C., we attempted to make numerous appointments online, but received no response. However, to our surprise at 10 A.M., we actually received a call from his office asking if we wanted to meet with one of his aids at 3:30 P.M. So in a heartbeat, we said “YES!”. We showed up early and to our surprise Congressman Walden himself was there to meet with us.
In the meeting, we shared our personal stories about our families with a straight and honest attitude. His response seemed genuine but vague; giving us hope that an immigration reform was in sight. We left accomplished and proud, only to be deceived by his vote the next day in favor of the “Enforce Act” (HR 4138) which would repeal the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and put myself and other DREAMers at risk for deportation.
Congressman Walden's vote has proven once again that he is unwilling to work with us on immigration reform. He knows we are DREAMers with families that have been broken by immigration; yet he still has the tenacity to raise his hand for the “Enforce Act”. As we reflect on this political “stunt”, we are not afraid to continue the fight against this broken immigration system. Congressman Greg Walden has just added more fuel to our fire and we will make sure there are major repercussions in his district regarding his stance on immigration."
