My name is Alonso, and I am alumni of the Michael G. Foster School of Business at the University of Washington. I am also an undocumented student who has been fighting deportation during the past year. I am still in the country thanks to the support of many, including SEIU, who not only supported me during my struggle with immigration, but has also given me the opportunity to be part of the last phase of the Trail of Dreams, an inspiring story of four students who have walked 15,000 miles from Florida to D.C. to give the undocumented youth a voice.
A year ago, on March 15, 2009, I was stopped by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities, charged, arrested, and sent to jail for two weeks. What’s crazy about this is that I was brought by my parents at the age of 14 through a tourist visa, which then the family overstayed, so it wasn’t really my choice to come here and be undocumented. On top of that, the reason my parents had to immigrate through a tourist visa was because doing it through our U.S. Citizen relatives would have taken more than 10 years, which is literally a big slap in the face. We are talking about the hierarchy of needs here and the reason my family decided to move to another country was because of the lack of the physiological part of it in our home country Peru.
Before my incident with immigration I wasn’t too knowledgeable about the immigration system until it hit me hard. I still remember passionately reading a huge book called “Know your rights” while I was in jail, and that was a turning point in my life. The more I learned, the more I knew that I had to get out there and tell the world.
On February 12, 2010, after three exhausting previous last minute extensions, I finally was able to take a deep breath as my deportation was indefinitely delayed by the Department of Homeland Security. Because of the length of time that took my case to get a concrete relief, I was able to gather so many supporters and expand my network like I would have never imagined, which is the reason I decided that my work could not finish there, but instead to step it up and be part of history and make a change.
On February 28, 2010 I became a grassroots organizer and with the help of student leaders from all across the state of Washington, we founded the Washington Dream Act Coalition. I always have been a person that likes to bring something new to the table, something innovative, something different. I am a visionary social entrepreneur, and I don’t really see myself becoming an activist, but a promoter of positive change.
On May 21st I attended the March for America on May 21st. I was very fortunate to have had One America, the third largest immigrant rights organization, give me the opportunity to be part of something that big. The energy levels I experienced there were out of control. I remember being in the plane back to Seattle eager to bring that energy home.
On April 10th I was given the opportunity to add my own touch to a Mega Rally that was organized by the Washington Immigrant Rights Coalition. I contacted a couple of my talented friends to help me spice up the event for the youth. Seeing them perform a song they dedicated to the struggle of the undocumented youth at the rally made me feel like a bridge between two different worlds where bringing awareness to the unaware is possible and fun.
Now back in D.C. during times of heavy activity for immigration reform, the final phase of the Trail of Dreams, and the controversial immigration law in Arizona, I am looking forward to share everything that is going on around here with all of you, with the help of my friend Walter Lara, another Dream Act candidate that was granted a deferred deportation and who I have so much in common because of our same struggle to stay in the country and push for the passage of the Dream Act.
You can also follow Alonso on Twitter and visit his website for more information.