Being able to stand in front of a large group of people and share my story has forever changed me. I would have never imagined that I would be able to find the courage in myself to speak up.
Some of the issues we advocated for included health access for undocumented people, immigration reform and youth investment. That last one is critical in Merced, where city leaders seem to have forgotten the youth and have completely underfunded opportunities and resources for them to prosper.
Then I started to see terms like “illegal alien” and “illegal immigrant” in the news. It seemed like everyone was reporting on what these “illegals” were doing. But I still didn’t understand why these people, who looked like me, were being branded “illegal” when really, they are just undocumented.
A group of 13 Merced youth, ranging from ages 12 to 24, visited the State Capitol last Tuesday in a trip organized by the Merced Organizing Project (MOP). Their mission was to bring attention to issues plaguing their community such as violence, education and health care.
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