UNDOCUMENTED. MEXICAN . DREAMER.

The Story of Ricardo Aca

In a recent interview, we had the pleasure of sitting down with a very impactful young man whose  art  has served the  genuine purpose of giving a voice to those who don’t have it due to a life-long fear. Disclosing one’s immigration status is no easy task, but it was the bravest  move for Ricardo  Aca, a current student at Baruch College. There are millions of students just like Ricardo, living with fear and preparing for the worst since they may not be secured the same privileges as an American-born student. We could feel the passion in Ricardo’s words as he proudly defended his Mexican and overall Hispanic community. And although the outcome of this presidential election has discouraged many Latinos, we thank him for being that brave, passionate, uplifting voice.

 

Laura P. : Tell me a little about yourself and your family

Ricardo  Aca : ” So I crossed the border when I was 14  , I am  now 26, I first became a recipient of DACA back in 2012  and have been one ever since I work at the Trump hotel as a server and I have an associates in commercial photography from La Guardia Community college  . My mom is 48  , my sister is 24 years old   , but yes, my sister is under DACA she recently had a baby , I have a nice and  she is an American born citizen she’s half Salvadorian and half Mexican . My Mom is undocumented so she doesn’t have any papers at all, so,  and I think she’s also very worried what’s going to happen to us in the future she think you know that maybe we are going to be separated , but we don’t even know how we are going to be actually separated is like are they going to deport first those who don’t have any papers or  they trying to get rid little by little of the ones who have DACA .”

Laura P.: How did you react when  Donald Trump was elected president?

Ricardo Aca : “I think I was really emotional ,just because I work at a trump hotel so I followed  the election very closely and then  because I made a video that had gone viral in which I replied to his comments about the Mexican community saying that we were criminals and drug dealers , the outcome that I was expecting from the election was completely different I  definitely not expect him to him  I think I also underestimated his power so we were all very  shocked the next day and I remember  being emotional because for the first time in my life I didn’t know what my future would look like in the United States  . I was Granted  this work permit but I always knew it was temporary  for some and it kind of gave me some protection throughout the years and it gave me a chance to get a job her and to kind work while I go to school at the same time and for the first time in a long time I kind of tried to look ahead  in my future and I certainly don’t know what going to happen .Also because if someone like Hilary Clinton with all of her experience can not become president what will the future hold for an undocumented gay Latino like myself  in this country ,so I was very discouraged but then after that  I thought about it and I gave myself a day  to be sad  but then the next day i was like “ok  we need to stand up and move one and see how we are going to fight this  because we have some time until he’s actually president to maybe convince him to not enforce the immigration laws the way he’s planning on. “

Laura P.: You mentioned a video gone viral  , tell me more in regards to that

Ricardo Aca :”So I wanted to  express my personal experience, I have worked at the Trump Hotel in SoHo since I was part of  DACA so when he ran for president one of his first things that he said was

” When Mexico sends its people they are not sending their best , they are sending criminals ,rapists and drug dealers “

and personally working within one of his hotels it didn’t seem fair to me that he would label us criminals , specially because he does not know me personally  , he doesn’t know the people that I work with in the kitchen , he doesn’t know how their situations are like and the reasons why they came here into this country .So , I graduated  for an associates degree from LaGuardia community college in commercial photography so I never considered this as  a tool to have a voice but then I remembered  I went to a soccer game in New jersey and I saw  a Mexican man holding a sign saying ” Chinga Su madre Donald Trump ” which is like a curse word for “F.. Donald Trump “and then  in that moment I saw that the Mexican people care about this issue and then they were also angry of what was being said of them in  the media by Donald Trump  so then That motivated me and led me to start a project in which I went to  a soccer game in Philadelphia for  the final of the Gold cup  and I wanted to photograph Mexican immigrants with their permission   holding  signs such as ” Not a Criminal ” , “Not a Rapist “,”Not a drug Dealer ” in response to Trumps messages . I wanted to show these are families with kids and that right now they are trying to enjoy a soccer game on a Sunday  and its not fair you are trying to labels us like criminals because that’s not how they are like ,that’s not how I know them ,and so then I have a really good friend of mine who is a film director ,so he asked me if he could film me throughout the whole process and then that’s how the video came .From there I came out as being undocumented and i remember it being a huge relief because I did not had to hid in any of those shadows and I was actually proud of where I came from so I embraced my immigration status as part of who I am .”

Laura P.: What are some of your thoughts on State policies an Deportation? 

Ricardo Aca:”Being undocumented  in New York city and Los Angeles  is way different than being undocumented in other cities , I know they are going to do everything in their power to not provide  officials any of our personal information that could help them track us down so that eventually we could be deported but I know also eventually is not the same being an immigrant in New York than being and immigrant in Ohio so I don’t even know how many undocumented people there are in Ohio but I’m sure they are all hiding in the shadows and then they can not come out publicly I’m undocumented because of the fear that they might be attacked by some of the Trump supporters and to tell them to go back home . So we don’t know what’s going to happen, hopefully the state might give them protection but we cant help the fact that one of the trump supporters might catch someone who is undocumented and report them, we can not have control over those things. ”

Laura P.: What do you think the outcome of all this, Trump being the elect president , will be?

Ricardo  Aca :”I think a lot of us are hoping for the best but expecting the worst ,so to a certain extent it seems like Trump is already delivering on his promises to his supporters ,and this makes a big impact on how he’s planning to proceed with his actions and promises ; so on my end there is a big possibility that he might get rid of DACA maybe this is our last DACA and maybe afterwards we are going to have to go back into hiding in the shadows . I am not one hundred percent sure but I kind of want to put myself in that mind set so I’m prepared for that moment if that were to happen and what will I do . I would like to start a movement in which we could sit down with him (the CUNY dreamers ) and he could actually get to know us  so he is touched by our stories and understand our reasons for coming into this country which we are not in any way to harm it by trying to take opportunities from anybody , we are just trying to provide a better future for our families and everything that we have got and received by working and that we are also contributing to this societies culture.”

 

 

“Give Us the Mic. We Can Speak for Ourselves.”

We had the pleasure of interviewing and receiving a personal video submission from Valentina Garcia Gonzalez, a current DACA student at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire who was rejected from attending colleges in her home state of Georgia for being undocumented. She spoke about her experience as an undocumented student at a predominantly white Ivy League institution, and gave sound advice to others (both undocumented students and allies) about what we can do given our current political climate. We thank students like Valentina Garcia Gonzalez, for boldly about proudly speaking out on how Trump’s victory has affected and will effect their futures.

Vanessa S: I know the #UndocumentedandUnafraid hastag is going viral to share the stories of many bold students like yourself.. But can you talk about some legitimate fears that you have, if any?

Valentina: Yes, that’s a movement. But unfortunately here at Dartmouth we have received threats from the Republican Clubs and other conservative clubs on campus, saying that they will work with immigration and attempt to send in forces to get us kicked out of the school. So I would say that’s pretty scary. Thankfully, the college is completely aware that they are unauthorized to do this or disclose anyones legal status. We cannot compromise the livelihood of deserving students… I have white-passing privelage (so I can blend in whenever I want because I look white) but in reality I am from Uruguay and am undocumented. I have been in the U.S. for years and although Uruguay is the place that birthed me.

See Valentina’s video below, where she discusses how the election and congress will affect marginalized communities and work-life issues.

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