DACA Resources

“As a DACA student, I was not offered many scholarships to attend college, and did not qualify to apply for FAFSA due to my undocumented status. Being the middle child of three children and having an older brother (who is also a DACA student) in college was not easy for my family. I knew it was going to be hard for my parents to afford two college tuitions without any help from scholarships. So, without many other opportunities, I had to turn to applying for external scholarships.” Learn more

“Dreamers deserve a pathway to citizenship — regardless of where they were born or how their parents chose to immigrate from a country where they felt hopeless. This can be done through the enactment of H. R. 6, the Dream and Promise Act of 2019, but we can only succeed by sharing our own immigration stories and standing in solidarity with the undocumented community.” Learn more

“If I do not gain legal status, and am one day unceremoniously banished from the only home I’ve known, it will not change what I hope will be my life’s ultimate contribution: for my efforts and path to help serve as a foundation for the next generation of great minority attorneys - much like my path has been, and will continue to be built on the efforts and sacrifices of indomitable generations before me.” Learn more or Watch more on YouTube.

“Being an EMT is like wearing a shield: you go into a room full of cops and you’re protected because nobody would suspect an EMT to be a DACA student.” Learn more

“We moved here because my parents were wanting a better education for me and my sister. They were wanting a better life and wanted us to have an opportunity to get a college degree. I want to influence my peers, other people who are behind me in my same situation, so they can know that it is possible to get a degree, and it is possible to achieve your dreams, despite all of the negativity that we are surrounded with.” Learn more or Watch more on YouTube.

Maria graduated from Georgetown in 2019. An active student on campus, she also found time to mentor students at DC Public Schools. She has been a camp counselor for individuals with disabilities and interned for her Congressman in Illinois. This fall, she began her career as a special education teacher in Milwaukee through Teach for America, continuing to give back to those in her community who need it the most. Learn more

“The Dream and Promise Act (H.R. 6) will give a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, TPS holders and DED holders but most importantly it will — on paper — recognize these individuals as the Americans they’ve always been. I just renewed my DACA, and if the bill doesn’t become law, I only have two years of guaranteed work eligibility and protection from deportation. My story is one of the millions of Dreamers, TPS holders and DED holders. It’s time that we advocate for our fellow Dreamers and be recognized as the Americans we are.” Learn more

“Who would have believed that a student like me, an immigrant, who was forced to learn a new language, who faced discrimination and bullying growing up, who didn’t have the advantages of being an American citizen, would ever have a shot at becoming a doctor? The answer to that is simple: Only I believed, and lucky for me, that’s all that ever mattered in the end.” Learn more

Meet Juan Martinez (SFS ‘20), Mariel Mendez (SFS ‘21), Kyeong Yun Jeong (M’21) and Luis Gonzalez (COL ‘19), all DACA students at Georgetown who are working to make a difference on campus and in their communities. Learn more