powerful educated but potential and a
purpose but before I am latina I’m
powerful and educated and all of these
things that I just said that make me
look good
I’m a human being not defined by race
ethnicity capability nor character I am
a human being and nothing else should
matter you see that thing that makes us
different than all the living creatures
is our intelligence and our judgment our
intelligence that has allowed us to sell
across oceans soar the skies like birds
and even break apart atoms and
intelligence that could be prosperous or
deadly and intelligence that has also
consisted of creating weapons of mass
destruction that kill by the thousands
and herd those in need as humans we also
have the judgment and the reason to
categorize things by shape size color
cities States animals and even humans we
are the reason to categorize humans by
what they look like where they come from
the color of their skin and what they
believe in prosperous or deadly growing
up I’ve always lived in big cities I’ve
lived in Wichita
I’ve lived in Oakland California San
Jose California and Mexico City which is
where I was born pretty big cities so
coming here to a small town where
country music blares everywhere I turned
was a little bit of a culture shock
something that I wasn’t really used to I
like to relate that culture shock to
back when I was brought here as a child
my mommy told me to pack up everything
that I knew life was about everything
that meant the most to me and so I did
so I packed everything that a
six-year-old could have fit into her
princess Megara backpack and Hercules
backpack without realizing that
everything I knew life was about was
being left behind I left behind my
language my culture my traditions and
everything I knew life was about to come
to a place that I knew nothing of
I had was my one-year-old sister and my
mother now my mother that woman is the
the most hard-working dedicated
inspiring giving sincere genuine
resilient woman that I know I could
probably go on and on about this woman
but I would spend all of eternity here
that woman fought for my sister and I as
all three of us were victims of domestic
violence the man that vowed to love and
respect and care till death do them part
that the exact opposite so often I hear
people tell me to go back to where I
so going back to why I did not want to
leave behind my culture my language my
traditions or even my abusive father I
loved I loved my life as it was
I loved my toys I loved my house I love
my dog
and I loved him and I forgave him for
every time he got finished punching me
in the face so why am i why they change
mindful versus mindfully I am illegal ok
temporarily legal but mainly legal
because you know an illegal human being
is a thing but have you guys ever had
someone admits here the legal status now
don’t you go on and call a meeting our
immigration on me because that would not
be good I’m a good person
I promise or at least that’s what I
think but even till this day I still
remember a hurry on that border even
after 18 years I remember however in
Iran that thing like there was no
tomorrow it was a hot summer day in a
place it called Arizona I remember what
I was wearing it was a yellow and green
shirt you know to camouflage in the
desert I remember that day and I
remember the tiredness in my mother’s
eyes I remember how swollen and her feet
were
I remember the blisters on the soles of
my feet
I remember my sister’s cries of
dehydration my mommy told me to run and
I ran your mommy medical hide and I hid
your mommy said be silent and I hold my
breath why I don’t know why I just did
it because she asked me to growing up
I’ve never got to relate to the stories
that my friends were talk about they
were talking about spending Christmas in
their home countries with their families
with their cousins with their
grandparents what they’re honest with
their uncles the same ones that I have
not hugged or seen in over 18 years as a
child you don’t make fun of another
child because of where they come from
what they believe in the color of their
skin as a child you don’t overanalyze
situations you just live with it but as
an adult you do mindful versus mindful
as an adult you realize and understand
why the sacrifices happen and why people
will decide to make the sacrifices that
they do as an adult you understand in
you overanalyze situations and as an
adult I now realize that my mother
sacrificed her dreams so that my sister
and I could have dreams of her own as an
adult I now realize the mockery behind
my mother’s broken English but as a
child you and you don’t understand that
as an immigrant child you play you run
you hide just like any other child as an
immigrant child you’re not worried about
whether you’re human enough to stay in
this country or whether or not you’re
worthy to stay and strive for a better
future but growing up you do growing up
your realize that you’re different your
opportunities
different you can’t board a plane you
can’t drive to school and you have to
work 10 times as hard you start to
believe that your worth in this country
is only based on this legal status that
is only used as political bait growing
up you realize that you’re different and
it’s not about people it’s not for
people to feel sorry about it’s about a
reality that many people breed them
through every pore in their skin it’s
not about taking opportunities from
Americans it’s not about getting
benefits or welfare or financial aid
because you can’t as an immigrant you
can’t and if you think you can I really
do encourage you to do some research to
be informed and to not believe fake news
in 2012 former administration signed an
executive order that allowed me and
immigrants like me who were brought here
as children with the opportunity to
obtain a work permit I was able to buy a
car get a good loan and buy a car and
keep pursuing my degree in education
unfortunately this ended quickly after
the current administration entered this
program and left me again at square one
my concrete plans for the future were
once against Vega
I felt I felt uneasy and I started to
question my mother sacrifice was her
sacrifice worth it were the 10-hour
shows before night class were they worth
it was paying tuition out of pocket the
time I spent studying the the time I
spent studying was it all worth it
leaving everything I knew life was about
for one stupid dream that I did not want
was it worth it was i worth it
fortunately when you surround yourself
with the right people they’re there to
build you up there that okay they’re
there because they care for you and not
your legal status never their illegal
status to find your worth nevertheless
illegal status to find you
as a human being because there is no
path to citizenship my people are left
in the shadows my people are left in
fear and these people all they want is
to provide for their families families
that deserve dignity and a peace of mind
because there is no way that I could
permanently fix my legal status my mama
says Myka that’s what they cannot see on
combat bellies why don’t you marry some
of the papers someone that could help
you fix your legal status and I love my
mom and I know she’s joking but behind
that joke there’s a scream of despair
because there is no way that that I
could permanently fix my legal status
she says these jokes and behind that
joke there’s a scream and there’s hopes
that I really do take him into
consideration but what about the other
guys the ones without the legal status
that ones with caring giving genuine
souls are they not worthy of my love are
they not good enough because of their
legal status never the illegal status to
find you as a human being illegal status
must not define you as a person a legal
status must not define your destiny your
relationships or how you are perceived
illegal status was not defined your
fears or your hopes I am NOT illegal I
am a person with a story a person with a
story that carries dreams fears hopes
and accomplishments I am a human being
and the legal status does not define my
worth thank you
[Applause] you