Dreamers reconnect with their roots in trip to Mexico
A group of Dreamers were finally able to do something they havent been able to do in yearstravel to their native country of Mexico and…
More than 40 Dreamers traveled this week to their native country of Mexico where they’ve been able to reconnect with their roots. The trip was organized by the Mexican government. Here, some of the Dreamers are seen visiting the archaeological site of Teotihuacan on Tuesday. (Facebook/Julieta Garibay)
A group of Dreamers were finally able to do something they havent been able to do in yearstravel to their native country of Mexico and reconnect with their roots.
A total of 42 Dreamers from across the United Statesincluding New Mexico, Texas, California, Arizona, Colorado and New Yorkare in Mexico for a weeklong trip organized by the Mexican Embassy and Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
These Dreamers are part of the estimated 450,000 Mexico natives who have been approved for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which allows them to work and travel outside the U.S. in limited circumstances.
Im feeling a whirlwind of emotions right now, Juvestino Meza, a Dreamer from Minnesota, told VOXXI over the phone when asked how he feels to be back in Mexico.
Dreamers were greeted Monday by Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs Jose Antonio Meade Kuribreña. (Flickr/Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores México)
The 26-year-old Dreamer hasnt stepped foot in Mexico for more than a decade. He was 15 years old when he came to the U.S. unlawfully to reunite with his parents, who had already been living in Minnesota for three years.
SEE ALSO: Life after DACA: A Dreamer says the program changed her life
Meza and the other Dreamers arrived in Mexico City on Monday. They will spend the week participating in a number of cultural and academic activities, such as visiting the Teotihuacan Pyramids and meeting with students from the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
They will also engage in panel discussions. The topics include the new direction Mexico is headed toward as a nation, how Mexico is treating Central Americans who cross through Mexico to get to the U.S. and the advocacy work Dreamers have done to halt deportations and push for immigration reform.
Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs Jose Antonio Meade Kuribrena welcomed the Dreamers on Monday. He invited them to take advantage of this trip to reencounter with Mexico, a place many of them left when they were children.
And thats exactly what Dreamers are doing.
Reconnect with their roots
For Meza and the other Dreamers, the trip is offering them a unique opportunity to reconnect with their roots in Mexico and see a new side of their native country that they havent seen before.
Meza admitted that when he first came to the U.S. in 2003, he broke ties with Mexico and began to view his native country as a place marred with violence and poverty. But now, as he learns more about Mexico, he said his view of Mexico is starting to change.
In a way, I feel that Im reencountering with Mexico, he said, adding that he feels privileged to be among the few Dreamers who got to go on the trip.
Julieta Garibay, who left Mexico when she was 12 years old, is among the group of Dreamers who traveled to Mexico. (Courtesy photo)
Julieta Garibay, a 33-year-old who spent most of her life as an undocumented immigrant living in Texas, expressed a similar sentiment. She said it has been surreal to come in por la puerta grande and to truly enjoy my beautiful country.
SEE ALSO: Two years after DACA, report shows the program is working
Garibay first left Mexico when she was 12 years old. She is not a DACA recipient, as she did not meet the age requirements to qualify for the federal program. However, she was able to adjust her immigration status this year through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
She told VOXXI the most overwhelming and yet gratifying part of the trip so far has been to connect with a group of Dreamers who were deported from the U.S. and now live in Mexico. They call themselves Los Otros Dreamers. She said hearing their stories helped her understand what it means to feel a sense of belonging to both Mexico and the U.S.
I have been able to acknowledge that one cannot pretend one part of your life did not exist, she told VOXXI. I am an orgullosa Mexicana, the country were I was born, where my roots and identity come from. And I also consider myself a part of the U.S., the country that has seen me grow up and where I call home.
Reunite with their family
For some Dreamers, the trip has also allowed them to reunite with family members they havent been able to see in years. Thats the case for Meza. He has been separated from his three sisters, one of whom was recently deported from the U.S., for more than a decade.
When I was getting ready to board the plane in Minneapolis to go to Mexico I just started crying, because I realized we were going to be together for the first time in 14 years, he said, referring to his sisters. That was an overwhelming, exciting moment.
After more than a decade of being separated, Juan Deoses was able to reunite with his father in Mexico. (Courtesy photo)
A similar story happened to Juan Deoses, a 25-year-old Dreamer from New Mexico who came to the U.S. with his mother when he was 8 years old.
SEE ALSO: DREAMer Power: Can they decide the presidency?
Before heading to Mexico City, Deoses traveled to Chihuahua last weekend to visit his father and 15-year-old brother whom he hadnt seen in more than a decade. He was also able to meet his 1-year-old brother and reunite with other family members.
It was beautiful. It was powerful, he said, describing how he felt to visit Chihuahua and see his family again.
But Deoses trip to Chihuahua was also bittersweet. Thats because he didnt get to see his grandmother who passed away recently.
I promised my grandmother, Gloria, for 10 years that I would come back to see her, he said. Unfortunately she passed away in August 2012. I had to say goodbye over the phone, and I was not able to see her alive.
Deoses added that he hopes other Dreamers will join him in using this unique opportunity to travel to Mexico to ground ourselves in the work that lies ahead of usthe fight for administrative relief for all 11 million undocumented families in the U.S.
Ultimately, I want my mother, aunts, cousins and uncles who did not qualify for DACA and who are still in jeopardy of deportation to have the opportunity to reunite with their loved ones, he said.
SEE ALSO: New DOD policy will allow some Dreamers to join the military
