Most undocumented immigrants try to live their lives under the radar. Sure, they work, go to school, raise families and participate in their communities just like everybody else - but they do so while making an intentional effort to attract as little attention as possible.
However, undocumented young people are increasingly refusing to live their lives in the shadows. Taking their lead from the civil rights movements of the 1950s and '60s, these young people are speaking up and publicly declaring their undocumented status. Their hope is that along with increased awareness will come increased tolerance and perhaps, if they are lucky, a path to become a legal resident of the only country many of them have ever known.
The highest profile member of this front is certainly Jose Antonio Vargas, the former Washington Post reporter who this summer published the story of his life as an undocumented immigrant in The New York Times Magazine. In that story, Mr. Vargas was honest about the steps he had taken to remain in the country he was brought to as a child, including obtaining a green card and driver's license under false pretenses and then using those documents to obtain work.
Although Mr. Vargas has garnered the most attention, he is not the only one speaking out. Earlier this year, seven undocumented students in Atlanta staged a sit-in to demand rights for undocumented immigrants. In New York, a young woman stood in her college wearing a t-shirt that simply read "undocumented" in large red letters.
These young people call the process "coming out," but not from the closet. They call it "coming out of the shadows." They say the term "illegal immigrant" signals that they are not even supposed to exist, and they want to turn that around by asserting that they are just as human - and just as valid - as any other young American.
New ICE Policy Could Help Them Stay
There are nearly two million undocumented immigrants in the United States who were brought to this country as children. Most have lived in fear of deportation since they were old enough to understand their status.
However, new U.S. immigration policy is allowing some immigrants to breathe a sigh of relief. This summer, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued memos stating that the agency's priority is to focus on immigrants who "present a clear risk to national security."
The memo also tells ICE officials to avoid deportation proceedings against many groups of people, including minors and elderly people, people who have been in the United States since childhood, those who are pregnant or nursing and individuals suffering from serious illness or disability.
The memo also directs ICE officials to give positive consideration to factors such as the person's pursuit of education in the United States, the circumstances under which the person was brought to this country and the ties the person has to his or her community.
Of course, avoiding deportation isn't the same thing as gaining legal residency. Until laws are changed, these young people will likely have to continue leading their double lives.
