Daniel TilsonWhen I first met Felipe Matos, he was heading nobly northward through Palm Beach County, traveling by foot along with three brave young companions.
Felipe, Gaby Pacheco, Juan (now Isabel Sousa) Rodriguez and Carlos Roa had departed from the foot of Miami’s historic Freedom Tower on New Year’s Day 2010, the beginning of an epic four-month ‘Trail Of Dreams’ odyssey that took them on a 1,300-mile walk, all the way to the White House.
I spent some time with them later that week, shooting video for a documentary, which, like their quest, is still in the making. And I came to understand firsthand how important it is for us as an American people, and as a nation, to help them and countless other ‘DREAMers’ like them.
Their journey was equal parts political action, consciousness raising, community organizing, rallying cry…and more.
All four young Floridians had been taken or sent here as children, then grew into young adulthood stamped, stigmatized and stymied as “illegal” immigrants.
Here were four highly intelligent, inspired, multilingual members of America’s Millennial Generation, eager to pursue their personal dreams and passionate about helping others achieve theirs.
Yet the nation and state they’d called home for years, rather than finding ways to facilitate their path to success, obstructed them.
I vividly remember the very cold January day I caught up with them, literally, trying to hold my camera steady while doing walk-and-talk interviews.
Good-natured as they were, they made it clear they could not be slowed down.
Felipe kept striding as he told me he’d been named a “Top 20 Community College Student” nationally, number one in Florida — but couldn’t attend prestigious universities he’d been accepted into because he was barred from receiving financial aid.
Carlos kept a steady pace while telling me how hard it was getting to school, work or anywhere else, because as an undocumented immigrant he was barred from having a driver license.
Gaby forged ahead as she spoke, her face etched with pain from first-week walking blisters, and no doubt also from the memory of the story she told.
Like so many others in Hispanic and Latino communities across Florida and America, Gaby had to live through the horror of an ICE (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) raid, a home invasion that tore her family apart for a time.
Juan walked with an easy gait and explained that having gotten legal resident status the year before, he felt compelled to fight for the rights of his friends and countless other DREAMers.
The Trail Of Dreams website explains the walk’s mission was “to share our stories, so that everyday Americans understand what it’s like for the millions of young immigrants like us, unable to fully participate in society. It’s time that our country come together to fix a failed system that keeps millions in the shadows, with no pathway to a better life.”
The good news is that the Trail took Gaby, Felipe, Juan and Carlos all the way to a White House meeting with Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, meetings with congressional leaders — and forward to further activism and pursuit of personal dreams.
The bad news is that America and Florida have yet to summon the heart, soul and wisdom needed to light a path out of the shadows for undocumented DREAMers with so much to offer.
In the interim, each step forward matters greatly.
And so it’s incumbent upon every Floridian of good conscience to contact their state senator and tell them to vote Yes on SB 1400, the “in-state tuition” bill. This would stop DREAMers in taxpaying Florida families from being charged out-of-state rates that put college out of reach.
It’s only right, it’s only fair…and it’s another small step forward on a long and winding trail.
A New York University graduate, Daniel Tilson owns a Boca Raton-based firm, Full Cup Media, offering “a la carte” and custom-bundled packages of communication services. Column courtesy of Context Florida.
