Nancy Godoy: President should help protect those who arrived as children
Being of Salvadoran and Mexican descent, I share this story because it has impacted my life and the lives of others who migrate alone to the United States. From 1980 to 1992, a civil war ravaged El Salvador, leaving my grandmother in fear for her son’s (my father) recruitment into FMLN guerilleros or the Salvadoran military. My father was 17 when my grandma decided to send him to the United States for safety. Like other adolescents being sent away from home, my father expected to have an opportunity to strive for a better life.
These children come here alone, with no money, no family and no guarantees of assistance. I believe many immigrants who migrate to the United States are seeking the American Dream. In reality, they are collectively denigrated after they arrive.
On June 15, 2012, President Obama announced the U.S. Department of Homeland Security would not deport certain undocumented youth who came to the United States as children. A great way to help these individuals is by uniting and asking our president to create a law, before 2016, which will prevent the termination of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). It might be impossible to grant the help for every person without proper documentation, but helping these children would be a big step toward positive change.
Nancy Godoy, University of California, Merced
This story was originally published April 29, 2015 at 1:49 PM with the headline "Nancy Godoy: President should help protect those who arrived as children."