By DORY MACMILLAN – Viewpoints Editor
In March of 2001, Cedar Shoals High School senior Alejandra Diaz* was separated from her mother for a week. At the time, she lived in Mexico. A week later, when they were reunited, she had moved to the U.S.
“We traveled from Arizona to Georgia. We were struggling for my mom to find a job and my brother and I to get into schools,”Diaz said.
Diaz and her brother were soon enrolled in school. It was then that Diaz realized she was a gifted student.
“We skipped up a grade. My brother and I (tested) well in math, so (our teachers wanted) to see if we could learn English in a year,” Diaz said. “Then we would advance to the next grade with everyone else. I’m barely 17 and I’m graduating (in May 2012).”
After arriving in the U.S., life was more difficult than Diaz expected, causing her family to question why they immigrated to the U.S.
“My dad has been stopped a lot of times for little things by police. He’s been sent to jail a couple times,” Diaz said. “(There have) been a lot of things that made us think, ‘Why are we putting ourselves through this?’ The American Dream was ripped out of our hands and we didn’t know what to do but stay here.”
After living in the U.S. for nine years, Diaz has become accustomed to American culture.
“To this day, I feel more American than I do Mexican. I speak English. Everything I do is American,” Diaz said.
Diaz and her family feel restricted due to their undocumented status. She is unable to get a driver’s license because she does not have a Social Security Number or to seek medical service because her family does not have health insurance.
“When I was little, I was really sick. We knew that we couldn’t go to a doctor. We had to find a doctor that would take us since we didn’t have Medicaid,” Diaz said.
One of Diaz’ concerns is the passage of House Bill 87. She believes the law is biased against those who have assimilated into American culture.
“I don’t find (HB 87) fair. I find it very racist. We’ve contributed to this country so much. We’ve been here for so long, we’re going by (U.S.) laws. We’re here in peace,” Diaz said. “(The U.S. government is) taking us away from a place we want to be and a place we belong.”
According to Diaz, she feels uncomfortable when teachers ask students about their plans for post-secondary education.
“Some people like me have to put your head down, (to) make sure the teacher doesn’t ask you. You can’t really (say), “‘Oh I’m not going to college. I’m undocumented and I can’t go to college,’” Diaz said.
Diaz hopes to attend law school, although she is also interested in molecular genetics. She feels that her opportunities are limited by her lack of citizenship.
“Gaining citizenship will (open) more doors for me. Right now, being undocumented, I only have a few doors open,” Diaz said. “If I have a citizenship, a lot of colleges will accept me and I know will have a better something then I did. I hope someday.”
*The student in this story agreed to participate only under the use of a pseudonym in order to protect her identity. Therefore, she has been given the name Alejandra Diaz.
