Skyping from Minnesota, Luz is a young woman that has blazed her own trail to build her American Dream - that is now in danger of collapse because of the shifts in the nation’s immigration policy.

Originally from Mexico, she tells the story of her family being detained at the border, witnessing South American children in the detention center her family was also held at, the moment her brother was separated from the group, and how their group walked through the desert and drank dirty water to survive.

Luz is a Minnesotan through and through - she talks to me how she went from being an unmotivated student to being extremely involved in high school. She was about to return to Mexico for college, when she found out that a Minnesota university would be accepting undocumented students at in-state tuition. From there, she continued hustling through her college years, waiting tables, working factory and office jobs, and now works at a company in a job that she is proud of and enjoys!

Here’s where the interview becomes emotional: Luz describes how the danger her DACA status is in can lead to her losing/ selling the house, and how the gov’t will say goodbye to her mortgage, credit, 401K, ect. that she will take with her.

She talks about the devastation she experienced on November 8th, and how her mother came to get room at 4AM and apologized to her for having brought her to the United States - I started crying on camera when she told me this. (Luz’s mom was also crying off camera in the room next door.)

Luz talks to me about how she hasn’t been an active part of the immigration movement, and how she admires the people that have been fighting for DACA, and how she has benefited from their work: and is determined to step forward and help make her own mark with her voice and her story!