Caribbean Dreamer worried about future as DACA deadline approaches
Reported by Garth A. Rose
As the countdown begins to March 5th, a Caribbean-born Dreamer is worrying about leaving the only country he has truly known as home, for a land he barely remembers.
In a “sort of wonderful”
Twenty-year-old Ruddie Grayson, (not his real name as he’s fearful of possible negative repercussions from the publicity), was brought to the US from Jamaica at age 3 by his teenage mother. He grew up in the US and attended high school and upon graduating at age 17, found himself in a “sort of wonderland” without the appropriate documents to gain employment. But through DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program introduced by executive order by former President Barack Obama in June 2012, Grayson was able to obtain a work permit and a social security number and began attending the Miami-Dade College in pursuit of a degree in business administration.
Faces uncertain future
Like some 800,000 fellow Dreamers across the country, he now faces an uncertain future since President Donald Trump rescinded DACA and charged Congress to fix the DACA crisis.
Now with no deal in place as the clock ticks and many Democrats backtracking from their vow to shut down the government for a DACA deal, Grayson is truly worried. “I think the Democrats bowed to pressure from Mr. Trump and the Republicans and agreed to vote reopen the government. Now each day I awake wondering if I will have a future in this country,” the Dreamer told CNW.
Little or nothing of Jamaica
The young Jamaican says he “know little or nothing” about Jamaica. “I have never been back to Jamaica,” he revealed.
“Most of what I know is from what I heard from my mom and other Jamaican relatives living in the ‘States.’ It’s really very discouraging for people like me who came to America involuntarily, went to school without a hassle, studied hard and graduated, to realize we can’t get jobs because we are illegal.
It’s a wicked thing Mr. Trump and the Republicans are doing, wanting to deport thousands of us who came here very young, and know nothing about the countries where we were born,” he added.
“We can make America great again”
“We are not criminals; we are educated and didn’t come here of our own will. We have the potential to make America great again. So why do they want to deport us?”
Grayson said he welcomed the government shut down since he thought if the Democrats held out for an assurance that DACA would be extended, the Republicans would eventually give in.“
Now they’ve agreed for the government to function again, with nothing but a promise to debate DACA. I doubt Republicans will agree to extend DACA. I am disappointed the Democrats bowed to Republican pressure,” he said forlornly.
Thousands of Caribbean Dreamers
South Florida immigration Attorney Dahlia Walker-Huntington estimates there are approximately 10,000 Caribbean nationals among the estimated 800,000 Dreamers who could face expulsion when DACA expires in March.
“Long before Obama implemented the DACA program in 2012, I had clients who were brought here as children, went to school, but were stuck, unable to work and having no Social Security documents since they were not legal residents,” Walker-Huntington told CNW.
“Many families from the Caribbean innocently brought their children to the US hoping to give them a better opportunity for a quality life, ignorant of the immigration pitfalls. Now the children are in a real plight if DACA isn’t extended.”
