Young immigrants taking their dreams elsewhere

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“My parents have always told (us) opportunities are anywhere. They brought us to this country because it was supposedly the land of opportunity,” said Estrada, 26, of Los Angeles. “But if we find opportunity in another place, our country is wherever our feet take us,” she said. Estrada, a participant in President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which provides deportation relief and work permits to immigrants who were brought here as children, is one of many young immigrants who are contemplating leaving the country. They are worried about their future here as President Donald Trump’s administration ramps up deportation efforts and has recently proposed limiting legal immigration.

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Because of this uncertainty, DACA beneficiaries are thinking about leaving the U.S. They fear that if they remain, they could lose their permission to work or end up at risk of deportation. Alma Cruz, a DACA recipient who works as an outreach coordinator for United Way, has a backup plan. Cruz, a Mexican native, is looking to move there, buy land, and go into the real estate business.

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It may have been a farfetched idea at first, but a trip to Mexico convinced Cruz that moving back to her native country wasn’t such a bad idea[...]“Being in Mexico, I kinda … want to move back,” she wrote. “Ya sabemos inglés (We already know English), let’s move forward. Anyone feel the same?” she wrote.

Nearly 100 comments followed.

“If DACA goes away we must continue to dream big in our home countries or other countries,” one person wrote.

“I’ve been thinking about it more and more. I am well educated and talented but I feel like I’ve just hit a wall with what I can do with my life here,” another said.

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