When I first met Mario, he was barely walking. His parents had arrived from Mexico about a year before I met them, joining his father's siblings and mother. At last, Mario's family was finally reunited once again. Mario's uncle and I were taking GED classes at a junior college. His uncle has been a great friend and confidant during all these years. For reasons of destiny, if I may call this, my friend, Mario's uncle relocated to Europe, only to experience the immigrant's nightmare all over again with a foreigner's accent.
I took the GED examination and enrolled in ESL classes at the same junior college. Mario started attending pre-k at a local elementary school. At first glance, one could see that Mario was an inquisitive and remarkably intelligent boy. He was a loner, but his isolation often led to find out things for himself and questioning how things worked. He also enjoyed reading a lot.
I then enrolled in college credit classes. I started to get worried, because back then, I didn't have a social security number and my concern was to get the credit I deserved for my education. We were assigned a number, generated by the school. I now admired the person who advocated before me, allowing us immigrants to get ahead in college despite lacking a status.
At the same time this was happening, Mario started elementary school. His parents were often proud by his teacher's comments and frequent remarks about how intelligent he was. Mario easily excelled in most subjects. His academic capabilities were remarkable. His teachers recommended his parents to transfer him out to a smaller, more challenging school. They listened.
I graduated with my associates, took a year off from school and returned to a Bachelor's program in a public university. My first chance at getting a merit tuition waiver, was shot down because I could not prove I was a citizen. That didn't stop me. I had come too far to get down on red tape barriers. It had take a long time when I finally graduated from the Bachelor's program with honors. I often visited Mario's family, staying in touch as much as possible.
Mario had finished elementary school and was recommended, once again by his teachers to be registered a a private middle school in the suburbs of Chicago. Getting into school was not an issue, getting there everyday was sort of a struggle due to the distance.
I started working in social work. I took another year off before returning to a three year, part time Master's program. At this point, I had an ss number but managed to pay most of my tuition and getting some merit tuition waver provided by the school.
Almost 21 years have passed. I have been practicing in my field for about three years now. Mario is a junior in one of the most challenging and prestigious high schools in Chicago. Undoubtedly, he has mastered at least two foreign languages. He is an honor's student and has also mastered the violin. But more surprisingly, he managed to make other like minded friends along the way. He has benefited from being part of a highly challenging academic environment.
I'm still in immigrant limbo and Mario is about to face the worst nightmare any student who has grown up and lived here endures. He will soon find out that his ability to join an ivy league school are not dependent anymore on his intellectual capabilities. Instead, Mario will have to face the immigration nightmare thousands of students are advocating for, fighting for the DREAM of their life.
This is a one in a lifetime event. I'm glad I have been a friend and hopefully source of advocacy for Mario. The nightmare has been endured long enough. It's time for change. It's time for the Mario's of the US to bring about what was promised to them.
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