Welcome Daysi from Oregon to Immigration MIC!

Daysi came to the US from Mexico at 11 years old, and through her experiences as a DACA recipient, she has become a fighter and advocate for mental health.

Her family had roots in the US, with her father working seasonally in California and Oregon, and traveling back to be with his family, eventually sending for their family to join him. Their family moved around quite a bit in Oregon, which Daysi recounts has given her the experience of interacting with different communities.

Daysi was the salutatorian for her high school, being involved in sports, being passionate about history — graduating in 2012, DACA being announced a few months later.

“I ended up having 2-3 jobs at a time, help my parents will the bills, I could drive, and I could go to college” — DACA had a huge impact on Daysi’s life, and she began paying to forward immediately, establishing an organization “United Undocumented Students” for DACA students, and allies, to be able to raise awareness in the conservative area of the state.

“I wanted to get stuff done, I wanted to make noise/ but the more I got into it, the more it drained me” Daysi opens up about the good, challenging experiences of being an activist. “I’ve also met great people along the way.” Daysi also becomes super candid about a dark period in her life where she contemplated suicide in high school, and the ways she fought back from those thoughts, and seeking professional health as recent as this past year.

“I’ve learned you have to stand up and fight for yourself” Daysi give words of encouragement for other that are going through tough times being caught in the middle of the national immigration conversation, and the importance of connecting to others to both find strength and a support system.