The emotion felt by Mexican Jessica Franco, who arrived in New York carried by her mother when she was barely four years old after having crossed the southern border, cannot be defined with any words.
It’s no small thing.
The announcements of the White House immigration plan this Tuesday, June 18, which opened the door to legalization for 500,000 undocumented immigrants, doubly include this immigrant, who only knows the Big Apple as home.
Jessica is married to an American, with whom she has three children. In addition, she is under the protection of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) or ‘dreamers’.
This means that this immigrant, raised in Brooklyn, is in the group of undocumented spouses, married to US citizens, who are opening the way to legalization in the country, following the announcement this Tuesday of the new “unprecedented” immigration relief. of President Joe Biden.
“When I was attending high school here, I felt lost and hopeless. It felt like all the doors were closed. New York is my home. I started school here. This is the only country I have ever known. Although I feel very proud of my roots,” the Mexican reacted.
After this news, other paths open up to Jessica, which completely distance her from any thoughts of family separation.
Married to a detective from the New York City Police Department (NYPD), also of Mexican origin, with a beautiful family, with community work as a driving force in life and some dreams that stopped, now this activist feels that thousands Like her, they will be able to see the future in a different way.
“It is an immense joy for many mixed families like mine. It is a very fair measure. Somehow, people like me get used to living in the shadows,” she said.
A story among millions
Jessica came more than three decades ago, brought by her mother, and accompanied by her eight-year-old brother. They fled domestic violence. She only remembers that they arrived under a persistent snowfall, from then on only came hard work and for years no clear option that would lead her to a permanent legal residence.
“In our history, like that of millions, there is only the desire to work and serve. For example, I would have loved to train as a police officer in this city, so that like my husband, I could protect New Yorkers. But, it was not possible, despite having been here since she was barely four years old,” she shared excitedly, who remembers little when she arrived in the Big Apple.
Although current immigration legislation establishes that undocumented immigrants who are married to a US citizen can apply for legal permanent residence through their marriage, in many cases they must leave the country to be able to complete that application and wait for the process in their country. country of origin. A procedure that fills many with fear, in the shadow of family separation. The process can take ten years.
The Biden Administration’s plan, to address this challenge, creates a new process to consider, on a case-by-case basis, applications from certain non-citizen spouses of U.S. citizens, which among other requirements includes having been continuously in the United States, for at least 10 years starting June 17, 2024, be legally married to a U.S. citizen until that same date, and have no criminal record.
Supported by a figure known as ‘parole’, this permit grants those who are already in US territory protection against deportation and allows them to apply for a work permit.
With the work authorization card, which will be valid for three years, migrants who entered the country irregularly and are married to US citizens can apply for residency and eventually citizenship.
It is estimated that the new policies will significantly impact Mexican and Ecuadorian communities in New York City.
The ‘dreamers’ aspire more
For the Mexican migrant Jessica Franco, married to an American and also like ‘dreamers’, it is a moment not only of joy and celebration, but also an urgent one to give more visibility to the great contribution that thousands of migrants can give to this country, who are cut off, which is why they qualify as “holes” in the immigration system.
“We dreamers are willing to pressure to eliminate many barriers. There are many vacant positions in the public sector that require citizenship as a main requirement. An unfair barrier faced by hundreds of DACA beneficiaries, who have top-of-the-line academic training, authorization to work and cannot even think about being police officers or firefighters,” said the activist.
This week organizations such as the La Colmena ‘Dreamers’, Mixteca, Undocublack Network, the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) and the Brooklyn College Office of Immigrant Student Success, held a community forum aimed at addressing and seeking legal avenues to remove these barriers to public sector jobs, specifically in New York State.
The legal route for this new “dream” would be to fight for the approval of a bill that has already been introduced in the State Legislature, by Senator Julia Salazar, called “We too Serve NY”, which aims to reform the laws of public functions, to allow people who are legally authorized to work in the United States under federal law to become police officers, firefighters, or hold any position in Public Administration.