Esteban Roldan, a sophomore at Stevens Institute of Technology, was missing something important when he was ready to enroll in college. He didn’t have a Social Security number. The Colombian native entered the country after his sister married an American citizen, but he had trouble becoming a legal resident. So, Roldan enrolled as an out-of-state student at a community college in Union County and began his studies.
Roldan worked after school at nights to pay for the higher out-of-state student fees for his education, because he had no way to prove he was an in-state resident. After a long journey to legalization which ended in 2008, the 22-year-old sophomore is now a legalized resident of the United States, and studies Music Technology and Engineering at Stevens.
After struggling through his own immigration process, he heard of a group of young undocumented immigrants who decided to walk from Miami, Fla. to Washington, D.C. to raise awareness about the hardships of being an undocumented immigrant in America.
Last Thursday, two of those young people, Felipe Matos and Gaby Pachecho, who walked over 1,500 miles to call attention to their cause, spoke in front of a packed room on the fourth floor of the Howe Center on the campus of Stevens Institute of Technology.
“Calling someone an immigrant has a negative connotation. We want to remove the negativity attached to immigration.” – Richard Sanchez, Stevens student
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“I wanted to have an opportunity to show everyone what immigrants can bring to this country,” Roldan said. “I want to eliminate the negativity that comes with being an immigrant.”
Roldan’s sister came to America and married an American citizen. Next, her parents received legal status. Finally, in 2008, he received the proper documentation which allowed him to enter a four year institution.
The story of the speaker
The story of Felipe Matos is similar to that of Roldan. Matos, 24, was born in Brazil of humble background. His mother could not continue to take care of him, so when he was 14 years old he was put on an American Airlines jet and sent to live with his sister in America.
He learned the language and worked hard, and when he studied at a Miami area community college, he ranked in the top 20 community college students in the nation. Applying to colleges to continue his education, Matos received acceptance letters from top schools.
However, with the acceptance letters came a request for his Social Security number. He called back and told them: “I don’t have that.” He still wanted to attend. The schools response: you can’t.
Matos realized that life could become unbearable as an undocumented immigrant, and that there would be barriers preventing him from achieving his dreams.
“I couldn’t complete my dream of becoming a teacher,” Matos said.
Now, ten years later, a boy who could not speak English when he came to America is a young man working to make the lives of undocumented students better. He travels across the country and speaks in front of packed crowds on a regular basis, telling the story of his odyssey from Miami to Washington D.C. to promote a proposed new law called the DREAM Act.
Trying to fulfill his DREAM
The DREAM Act is bipartisan legislation – presented by Sen. Orin Hatch (R – UT) and Sen. Richard Durbin (D – IL) which would allow qualified undocumented youth to be eligible for a six year old conditional path to citizenship that requires the completion of a college degree or two years of military service.
Republicans blocked the vote when it came up in September, but a lame duck Congress may yet pass the bill. Opponents of the bill have said the bill would encourage illegal immigration because it presents the opportunity for amnesty. President Barack Obama supports the bill and so does Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
‘I am an immigrant’
The co-host of the event, Richard Sanchez of the fraternity Lambda Upsilon Lambda, said the evening was coordinated because he wanted to “bring the diverse group of students at Stevens together.”
The event was named “I am an Immigrant,” and was meant to remind people that all Americans have ancestors who travelled to this country at one point, according to Sanchez.
“Calling someone an immigrant has a negative connotation,” Sanchez said. “We want to remove the negativity attached to immigration.”
Interim President George Korfiatis attended the event, and said it was a great way to highlight the diversity of Stevens.
“Diversity is something we’re trying to promote here at Stevens,” Korfiatis said. “We have a lot of foreign born students and students from overseas, and events like these promote their cultures.”
Alvaro Home, a student who volunteered to help at the event, said the event raised awareness of the situation facing undocumented youth.
“Everyone at one point in time had to struggle as an immigrant in this country,” Home said. “Even if it was just the inconvenience of moving, everyone as an immigrant struggles and we want to bring awareness of that.”
When Matos graduated high school, he had tears of sadness while his classmates had tears of joy. They were going to a four-year college, and he wasn’t. Now, the 24-year-old Brazil native is the voice for those who shared his plight. Stevens students felt lucky his story could be shared with them during his visit to Hoboken, one stop on a young man’s continuing journey.
Ray Smith may be reached at RSmith@hudsonreporter.com