Recently, conversations about DACA have been a point of contention at Wake Forest. I have had many opportunities to engage with numerous individuals who believe that undocumented individuals are a threat to the United States. This article is for the people who forget that undocumented students exist amongst us at Wake.

Undocumented people are activists, scholars, leaders, presidents, volunteers, friends, philanthropists, brothers, sisters, and most importantly humans who belong here despite your ignorant bigotry that some might call a “political opinion.” SO here are five misconceptions believed to be facts by these individuals, debunked by an undocumented student who exists on this very campus.

Before you read this article I would like to point out that after this paragraph, it is no longer my voice. This is the voice of a student who personally deals with being undocumented and would like to share with you where you go awry. For the purpose of safety, their name, gender pronouns and any other descriptions will be hidden.

My experience at Wake being an undocumented student has been constraining. I not only struggle to survive at “Work Forest” but also deal with the tangible consequences of being undocumented and being on a campus that is completely and totally unaware of my existence. I wish people knew how isolating it was but do they even know I exist?

The recent walk-out held in support of a clean DREAM Act was an affirming space. I could hear and put faces to the people who said they supported me, but once it ended everything resumed to normal. The faces that I saw demand recognition of my existence one day were the same faces that didn’t bother to look twice at mine the next. Once the fanfare and the glamour of our so-called ‘activism’ subsided, so, too, did the relevance of my lived identity.

Wake went back to being a space where I became significant only when I was to be one’s token or the object of one’s ‘activism’. While Wake accepts and admits undocumented students, it is completely irresponsible for its (lack of) facilitation of their development. Wake makes no efforts to go out of its way to meet the needs of undocumented students on this campus: Do you even know these needs, Wake? The university assumes that the resources provided for everyone meet the needs of every particular student.

From the moment you step onto campus every part of your life is carefully crafted for you. Pre-orientation, orientation, student advisors, faculty advisors, office of well-being, OAA, LAC, UCC-- everything is there for your progress. You don’t know how to make a resume? Go to the OPCD. You need to make money while being a full-time student? Go find out about work-study. You want to go beyond the confines of this country? Go to GPS.

You feel that this campus is suffocatingly white? Good luck with that because I’m still trying to figure that one out. Wake provides students with all these resources, yet even with that I fall through the cracks. If you’re undocumented and you don’t know what professions are accessible to you because federal law bans you from being able to attain certain licenses, can OPCD provide you with the resources to find out?

If you’re undocumented and you need an income but are barred from federal aid, what jobs don’t require work-study on campus? Is there a list or someone you can go to to ask? Is there even someone who’s thinking about how I’m soon going to be out of a job because of the DACA rescission?

If you’re undocumented and you see all of your friends get to go abroad when you yourself can’t leave the country because it would mean being banned from your home, can GPS help you explore other options? If you’re undocumented and you not only see these discrepancies but actually live them, experience them, then are you really a valued member of the Wake Forest community?

I am just now starting to realize my worth; that I have certain needs that need to be acknowledged; that I belong here, the place that I call home. But it’s tough to be in an environment that fails to meet you where you’re at, much less realize that you’re not like the rest of the students.

A common phrase that people have used to describe the experiences of being undocumented is this: living in the shadows. It's not like I can nonchalantly say aloud, “Hey, I am undocumented and this is my experience.” Because that’s a reality fraught with hazards. How am I going to know that someone on this campus that’s deluded into thinking that they deserve to be on this land any more than I do isn’t going to carelessly spread my information?

Do you understand that though I desperately wish to share all of me, all of my identities and experiences, I can’t do so without fear of retaliation? Fear of inadvertently aiding the separation of me and my family? Fear of being taken from the only place I call home? I wonder if my purported allies are aware of this.

Ideally, those who claim to show up for me, who claim that they’re here for me would be cognizant of the differentials between me and them and use this knowledge to advocate for people like me, knowing that visibility is, in some aspects, a privilege not easily afforded to undocumented people. But I use the word ideally intentionally.

And I know. I know that if I’m feeling lonely or isolated or having struggles with belonging that there are resources, like the UCC for example. But I hope you know that when you relegate me and my struggles to corners of this campus, to places like the UCC, that you’re only confirming my perception of my needs being less than, secondary to documented people.

Not to mention that when I do go to the UCC I do more the job of informing the counselor about immigration matters than actually being counseled. The UCC (definitely) isn’t the answer to all of the problems you create and exacerbate, Wake. Do better. Be better.

Here’s how you can start. These are some common misconceptions about the undocumented population in the U.S. If you didn’t know that these are misconceptions, then you might want to consider the quality of your education.

If you know that these are misconceptions, but still choose to view people like me as criminals, impostors, line-skippers, dollar signs, or whatever other constructs that fit your best interests, then you might want to (actively) listen to why people call you heartless. Here you go:

All undocumented individuals are Latino and/or Hispanic - if you don’t know that this is false, please question your education.

All undocumented individuals cross the border - No. Border crossings have declined and visa overstays have increasingly become one of the reasons for undocumented status.

All undocumented people are stealing American jobs - I hope that people know that there are certain restrictions that bar undocumented people from certain professions. By federal law, undocumented people can't attain licenses to become lawyers, doctors, social workers, etc. In North Carolina, undocumented people can’t even become elementary school teachers. The jobs that undocumented people often do have are low-income and not exactly enviable jobs…

All undocumented people are draining our tax dollars - Undocumented people are excluded from welfare benefits, like SNAP, TANF, SSI, Medicaid, Medicare, etc. even though we pay taxes. Hmm...

“Illegal” immigrants should come here the right way - No. People cannot be illegal. What are you saying when you say a human being is illegal? Their existence, their being is illegal? Also, undocumented immigrants already in the U.S. can’t just “get legal”; that’s not a thing. The right way? If you think that you deserve to be here, have you thought about the ways in which you reify American Exceptionalism?

Let’s think about how the U.S. was founded. Do you understand that America was founded on the genocide of indigenous peoples? Through the institution of slavery for the pursuit of (white people’s) freedom? Do you really want to talk about being on this land legally?

When you tell undocumented individuals to leave, you need to realize that once undocumented individuals leave the country they’re banned from what may most likely be their only home. If I leave the states, then I can’t return for ten years. Where do you expect me to go when this is the only place that I know?

I am not a dollar sign that's supposed to go in your pocket or out of your pocket or competing against whatever other people you might also reduce to dollar signs. I am a human being.

You need to recognize that, and that entails educating yourself so that this outlining of misconceptions is not necessary; acting in solidarity even when there’s nothing to post for your social media; keeping up to date with news on immigration so that I don’t have to be your informant; and, really, considering others outside your positionality through your empathy. Recognize me. Trust me. Support me. Work with me.