Advocates pointed out Merced County’s undocumented population is estimated to pay nearly $9 million in local taxes this year alone. Additionally, the community plays a major role in the local economy as the undocumented labor force supports much of Merced’s agricultural industry--valued at $3.5 billion in 2015.
Above: Tonya Mendoza shares her story of struggling to pay for medical care without insurance; at times she had to decide between paying her utility bills and rent or buying medicine.Read More
What are we doing and why are we doing it? Those seem to be the questions that keep coming up as I try to differentiate my thoughts from a once thoughtless category of opinion. What opinions you ask? Well let’s start with the obvious narrative of politics and all its rich participants, oh sorry, I meant rich discussions.
The future is very dark for America thanks to Trump. In less than five days he has made 12 executive orders that will continue to have devastating effects on most of the country.
“I think a lot of people don’t really know what DACA is. People think [Trump] can’t really do anything about it, but they don’t really understand the difference between an executive order and the law,” she said. “He can literally just take that piece of paper and throw it in the trash and that will be it. It won’t mean anything anymore.”
Fear of a Trump presidency is in fact prompting many to shy away from applying for the program or from renewing their paperwork out of fear their information will be used by the government to initiate deportation proceedings against them.
“The most important thing to remember, is that you may not have papers, but you do have rights. You have the right to remain silent. You do not have to respond to immigration’s questions,” Davenport said. “If they ask where you were born or where you live, just say you’d prefer not to answer.”
The hope is that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials will decide you are too much of a hassle and will not bother pursuing someone who shows they have a clear understanding of their legal rights, she said.
Renteria has been working with Students Advocating Law and Education (SALE), a UC Merced group comprised of undocumented students and allies that has been promoting voter registration on campus this fall. A week of registration and voter education events are planned for Oct. 18 through 21, in the lead up to California's deadline on Oct. 24.
“Many of the students I talk to know there are undocumented people, but they just don’t know there are undocumented students,” she says. “Once you find a way to relate it to them though, it’s easier for them to understand the importance [of the issue] and pay attention.”
Unresponsive at first, the full impact of the decision settled in and I was devastated. I sat down and watched Univision -- they were interviewing all of the disappointed parents and Dreamers. Seeing their heartbroken faces and frustrations hit me hard. It was another blow for immigration activists. One of many received over the years.
“I’m just working and trying to have a better quality of life for my family here and in Mexico,” explained Graciela’s husband. The 42-year-old came to the United States 15 years ago. The sole breadwinner in the family, he commutes daily to work in the Bay Area.
Asian Americans need to join the immigration movement to diversify it, Kem said, perform more outreach, and gain as strong a media presence on the issue of immigration as Latinos have. “That really brings power to the Latino voice,” Kem said.
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