Reayanul Haque

Professor Alyssa Yankwitt

Writing for the Social Sciences

Interview Essay Final Draft

18th March 2020.

                           DACA is a program that deports undocumented immigrants from the United States. President Barack Obama started the DACA program in 2014 to expand the undocumented immigrants. Thousands of people were deported from the US because they were undocumented. I had an opportunity to interview one of my classmates who used to belong to the DACA program. This interview will reflect Ana’s subculture and my analysis of the topic. Ana is a very intelligent, brave, strong and opinionated woman. I had an idea about her subculture since I have had a friend who was also from the DACA program.

Conversation with Ana

                  For our interview, I told Ana to pick a place at campus so that she wouldn’t feel uncomfortable talking about her being in DACA. When it was time for the meetup, Ana chose to sit in the library at the North Academic Center. The place was very quiet and consisted of a narrow hallway with small rooms. We chose to sit in one room. We sat facing each other. Ana was wearing a grey sweater. I also noticed she wore a gold necklace that matched perfectly with her outfit. I was very open-minded and started the interview by asking about her childhood. Ana told me that she emigrated to the United States from Mexico with her mother when she was 5, joining her father who was already living here in the states. Ana could not start school right after moving to the states. She started middle school at the age of 9. Since they were living in the country illegally and it was hard for them to adjust to a regular life because they always felt unsafe about being deported anytime. Ana told me, “I applied for DACA when I was 14. I started to get my stuff ready to apply because I had to be 15 to apply. A week after my birthday I went to an office and started the application process.” She explained that her family moved to the United States because they wanted Ana and her siblings to get a better life and education that they wouldn’t get in Mexico. “My parents risked their lives to give me and my siblings a better life and moved to the States.” Someone who is a DACA recipient is called a “Dreamer.” They were brought to the country illegally as a child and are allowed to stay in the U.S plus they are also permitted to legally work. She mentioned that it is not easy to be a dreamer. “Being a dreamer is not easy because I fear we might get deported at any time. However, at the same time, it made me very strong, brave, fearless and independent” says in a regular tone. Ana is grateful that she and her family got an opportunity to apply to the DACA program before any recent events happened which can cause rejection. 

DACA Impact on Her Life

                        While we were talking, Ana paused and said,” DACA has changed my life in better ways and also caused some tensions in my life.” However, I could tell that she got a little nervous while talking about how it changed her life but eventually, she continued talking. “It’s giving me hope and honesty. I’m able to legally work and get TAP for school. It came into my life at a time I needed it the most.” She says she sees everything as a challenge. “I believe it has to do with the DREAM Act. It’s a bill that tried to get DACA recipients’ legal status. It might also be one of those things that help motivate people” Ana says while keeping eye contact. Ana wasn’t able to receive any type of financial aid unless it was a private scholarship. But now she’s able to receive TAP and get in-state tuition. Applying to college was different, DACA has bettered her life in so many ways including her higher education. I found out that DACA protects them from being deported and it permits them to legally work in the U.S. they must reapply every 2 years. Ana says, “All the undocumented people cannot practice DACA, only people who have previously applied can re-apply. People who have previously applied were brought to the U.S illegally as a child. But right now, they aren’t accepting any new applications from first-time applicants.”  

Staying positive with the refusal

                               While talking Ana sometimes looks away and tries to remember the details about the thing she wants to say. I realized; she also does hand movements to explain things while talking. Ana says how she doesn’t feel safe sometimes because she and her family doesn’t know what will happen in the future. I could understand how she felt because my friend had to go through the same situation as her. “I feel safe right now but it’s the uncertainty of the program not continuing that worries me. It’s in the supreme court right now and the results will come later this year. That will determine what happens to all of us. It’s a bit scary to think about when it will end.” She also says how some people are against keeping the dreamers and want them to deport them to their country. “Children who came to the USA when they weren’t even able to speak their language moved here for a better life. It is very hurtful how some people do not want to support the dreamers and want them to deport instead of supporting the DACA program.” So There are some organizations for the DACA recipients who come out and protest, join groups, if they want they also can donate money. I feel like the government should protect those dreamers and their families from being deported. “I would like the government to find a way for us to gain permanent legal status but I’m not sure how feasible that is at this time,” says Ana. Also, some organizations spread awareness, show support to the dreamers. They educate themselves on the subject and be there for the DACA dreamers.

Conclusion

                   As a collective, Ana says, “The program stands in the supreme court, its results will come later this year.” Ana tried to keep a positive attitude about being in the program. “I am very positive about my hopes that things will be good, and my family and I will be safe.” There are also so many families out there struggling with getting into the program and to get the social security numbers that we do not know about. I can relate to her experience because I saw my friend going through the same thing and it is never easy to be strong like Ana. It made her strong and showed that she can overcome anything in her life. She was very open and honest about her subculture. There were a lot of things that I did not know about DACA. So, interviewing her was a great opportunity for me to know about her and the DACA. This helped me gain knowledge about her subculture. I felt great after interviewing her and very thankful to Ana for taking his time to ask my questions