On this California episode of Immigration MIC I sit with the founder of Santa Cruz Dreamer Project Gabriela!

In this hour long interview, we cover a complex and multifaceted story, which includes:

🔵 From Oaxaca, Mexico, Gabriela recounts details of the harrowing journey to the United States, including being physically tossed over the fence, and testimonies of violence.

🔴 In the 8th grade, Gabriela learned the limitations of her status, when she wasn’t able to go to a trip to Washington DC - a heartbreaking moment, especially because of her early love of political science.

⚫️ The very complex reasons why her family wasn’t able to be able to gain citizenship through her grandfather, and how an entire side became citizens, and the other side remained undocumented.

🔵 She recounts the very, very personal story of being in a relationship, marrying “now” to build a future “later” right after high school, and filing for divorce a couple years later.

🔴 Gabriela applied for DACA on her own, spending hours researching the process (and having had experience, having researched how-to citizenship books in middle school)

⚫️ She talks about the night of the election, and being unable to react to the announcement Trump was president at a viewing party because no one there knew she was undocumented.

🔵 She talks about her personal reasons for not having been involved in the immigration reform movement, having felt like DACA “was enough”, and making the decision to begin speaking out last year.

🔴 Sharing her story for the first time at a protest, and the important moment amongst allies that inspired her to become a leader, and her experiences sharing her story with national and local media, and wanting to share the platform with others.

⚫️ If you’re in California, or in the Santa Cruz area, you can contact Gabriela through the Santa Cruz Dreamer Project on Facebook, or on Instagram @santacruzdreamerproject