My name is Deanna Rusz-Delamater, I am 19 years old, and I'm an Undocumented Immigrant.
You may be asking yourself, "What!? Why is she admitting this on the internet?"
The truth is, there is a lot of stigma around undocumented immigrants and immigration and I'm here to set a few things straight.
To answer the first thing that's running through your head, no. I did not hop the border. I flew to America when I was 14 on a tourist Visa and simply overstayed. That's it, I simply overstayed a tiny little stamp in my passport.
You see, I was brought here in 2011 along with my brother when my mother met an American man online and they quickly fell in love. When you're a girl who has only ever seen America as its portrayed in High School Musical and Camp Rock, this is an exciting thing. I immediately dreamed of the college I would attend, the type of car I would drive, all the things the usual teen would do.
Unfortunately, being an Undocumented Immigrant in Sandy Creek, NY. I was unable to do those things. To get a driver's license, you need a social security number, when you aren't an American citizen; you don't have one of those.
To answer your next question,"Why didn't you just go get your citizenship?"
Obtaining US Citizenship is a very difficult and lengthy process. The first step is to get your green card, your green card is your social security number. You can obtain a green card a few different ways, but any way you do it; it costs thousands of dollars and many months.
The problem with that is, undocumented immigrants are not allowed to legally have a job. No social security number, no job. If you do manage to get a job off the books, you aren't allowed to drive to get there since you legally cannot get a license.
Now when you're in your senior year of high school and watching all your friends make money and drive wherever they want, it's definitely disheartening.
However, it was worse watching your friends and fellow classmates go off to college. I had to watch my classmates, the class below me, and the class below that start college while I simply fell behind. I wasn't able to attend college as undocumented immigrants get no federal or state aid, that includes financial aid.
Since I wasn't able to get a job through high school and I couldn't get financial aid, there was no way I could attend college. I watched the people I went to school with for four years go off to schools all over the country, while I was stuck behind and forgotten. As much as I would love to say I stayed in touch with my friends, I did not. They were stuck at college and I couldn't drive out to see them, causing a huge strain on our friendship. Any friend I had always had to give me rides home or come pick me up if I wanted to go somewhere, it was terrible feeling like a burden.
This country has a lot of stigma against immigrants, claiming that were terrorists, or freeloaders or here to take over your country. The truth is, we just want a better life. We want to be able to make something of ourselves in the "land of opportunity." Instead, we are treated like scum. Being from the United Kingdom, I don't get the "wetback" and "terrorist" insults like my fellow immigrants do. However, my options here are still just as limited.
All I want to do is establish myself in this country, become a person. I want to stop feeling so disgusting when someone calls me an "illegal."
It has taken me four years, and I have finally filed the paperwork for my green card. I am so close to actually being able to become a person in America. I am so close to not feeling like a burden anymore.
We are not here to take anything away from you. We are not here to harm you or your country. We are here to better ourselves and our families.
We are people too.
**DISCLAIMER: this article was written from my own perspective based on the laws in New York State. This is in no way a reflection of the life of EVERY undocumented immigrant**
