On November 19th, Dr. Roberto Gonzales, an Assistant Professor at the University of Washington, hosted an interactive forum in the Olympus Room of the Lindbloom Student Center to discuss the hardships faced by ‘undocumented youth' – immigrant children that grew up in the US without becoming legal citizens.
Dr. Gonzales began the discussion with a story about the inspiration for his studies – A 16-year-old boy named Alex from Chicago. At age six, Alex's parents were both working two shifts and had enrolled Alex in an after-school program. It soon became apparent to Dr. Gonzales and to other teachers that he was a talented artist, and he went on to become a part of three major murals by age 14. With the help of the community, enough money was raised to send Alex to the Chicago Academy for the Arts. Unfortunately, Alex did not have a social security number, and was not a legal citizen of the US. The college would not accept his application. He dropped out of school and began to socialize with gang members, and was shot by a rival gang at age 16.
Many undocumented youth suffer because of their status, regardless of talent or education. 23% of the United States population is made up of undocumented immigrants. Most immigrant children either do not know that they are not legal US citizens, or do not understand the implication of it. In the US, adults without papers cannot legally work in most jobs, vote, travel outside the US, receive financial aid, or get a driver's license (in most states).
Dr. Gonzales described the lives of undocumented youth as a three-step process: They begin as children that are protected under US laws, transition into adulthood and learn of their status, and ultimately "wake up to a nightmare." His goal is to reach out to those undocumented citizens and help to provide them with the information and resources they need to end the nightmare.
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