Resilient Voices: Aurora’s Journey from Undocumented Youth to Immigration Advocate

By Oprah Cunningham

The Biden administration recently announced policy changes that will profoundly impact longstanding undocumented communities, including DACA recipients. In the conversation below, we hear the voice of a young immigrant woman with the lived experience of being undocumented. Facing the fears of prolonged uncertainty and family separation, she finds strength in advocacy, community, and helping others.

This conversation, which comes during Immigrant Heritage Month, has been edited for length and clarity. Special thanks to United We Dream for partnering with us on this piece.

Oprah: Can you state your name and where you’re from?

Aurora: My name is Aurora and I’m from San Antonio, Texas. I’m currently residing here and I’ve been here since I was one year old.

Oprah: What was it like growing up undocumented?

Aurora: I grew up with a pretty normal life. I never even knew I wasn’t documented until high school when I started applying for schools. And I asked my mom: Hey, mom, do you know what my social security is? And she told me, you don’t have one. And I’m like, what do you mean? And she’s like, you’re undocumented. I did not know what that was, and I was confused. After that, there were many roadblocks for me. I couldn’t apply to the schools I wanted. I couldn’t have any scholarships that I wanted. Obviously, applying for a job was difficult because I’m like, how am I going to go to school if I also can’t financially support myself?

That led to a lot of uncertainties — a lot of anxiety growing up undocumented — especially living in a mixed status family where my siblings are citizens from here. But I’m not. I felt like I was a little less than everyone else.

Oprah: What has it been like living undocumented now, particularly in a state like Texas? How did DACA change things, and how did it not change things?

Aurora: Living undocumented in Texas can be a little more intimidating because there are people who are pro-immigration and there are people who are anti-immigration. I am very direct when it comes to my undocumented status, but to some people I am not. And especially now with laws like SB4 and wanting to drive — without risking being separated from my family. It has been difficult.

I applied for DACA twice. And I was blocked first because of the Trump administration and then the second time because of Judge Hanen’s decision. And I found out in the most bizarre way, because my lawyer never told me the second time what was going on — I found out through social media. I think my world just collapsed after that because I was very hopeful that I was going to receive it the second time. And like I said, I’m part of a mixed status family, so I would like to support my parents, support my family with anything they need. And after that, I just lost all hope. I thought to myself, I’m not going to get anywhere. We have to keep waiting on these laws and what’s going to happen. DACA didn’t really change much for me. It just kept me on standby. I’m happy for everyone else who was able to get it because I know a lot of friends, a lot of family members who were able to receive DACA. But for me it didn’t really change much. I’m still stuck in limbo.

Oprah: What led you into organizing and fighting for immigrant communities?

Aurora: As I saw all of the attacks on our community, I didn’t really tell a lot of people about my status. I was still fearful. Some people have blackmailed me — people who don’t have good intentions. So, I felt lonely. I asked myself, is there some type of organization, some type of community that would understand me? I found out about United We Dream, and I was shocked. I was like, oh, there’s actually more people like me, more young people who are understanding what I’m going through. So I joined their summer program called Summer of Dreams. And we talked about political campaigns and laws that were happening. I got to meet more people like me. I opened up a little more. I felt comfortable. I didn’t feel like anyone was going to take advantage of my situation. And also because of my family — my older brother was undocumented, and he just received residency. So thanks to my family as well, that pushed me to be part of a community like that. And just to feel a sense of belonging, because I felt like I couldn’t really trust anyone aside from United We Dream.

Oprah: And that’s completely valid. Immigrant communities are so strong. And as immigrants, when we talk to other immigrants about their experience, it’s like, “oh, I get that.” That’s why community is just so important. It helps build resilience. It keeps you going — having people around you who are like, I get you, I see you, let’s keep pushing.

Oprah: What have been some of the things you’ve been advocating for in your community in Texas?

Aurora: With the current immigration laws that have been taking effect, it’s been frustrating. I’ve been speaking about it more on social media platforms with my community. And SB4 in Texas — raising awareness about the things that can take place in case anything happens. I’ve been sharing the United We Dream toolkits, like how to protect ourselves and our loved ones. I’ve just been trying to take care of my loved ones and my community, and saying in case you need help, this is a person you should call and reach out to. Information like that has been pretty helpful because some people don’t know or they’re too scared to reach out for help. They’re too scared to talk to someone. It’s been empowering. It’s been strengthening for me because I wasn’t like that before, where I can be open about it.

We’ve been living in fear because we don’t really know when SB4 is going to take effect. My dad, who’s undocumented, he’s always driving, and we’re always worried about where he’s going to go, if they’re going to stop him, or if they’re going to question him. So we’re just worried, like when something is going to happen and if it’s going to affect all of us and create division in our families — and if we’re going to be separated. It’s not just going to happen to my family. It can happen to thousands of other families. So we’ve been living in fear.

And it’s false information that fuels these policies. People are not well informed and they act out of fear. And I think if we can help those people and inform them even better, that would help.

Oprah: What advice would you give to other immigrant youth who are currently going through similar experiences?

Aurora: As someone who didn’t really know how to talk about this when I was younger, I would say, do not let it stop you from making the decisions you want to make. You should let it drive you instead. Because we live in fear. We live in uncertainty. I’m undocumented. I can’t do much. I can’t go to school. I can’t practice my favorite hobby because I feel that people are going to judge me. I can’t talk about my status because I feel like people are going to take advantage of my status. I think we should just speak up. We should help everyone else around us. You should not let that be your weakness. You should instead let that be your strength. I was in the shadows for a while and I thought to myself, I can’t do anything. That led to constant depression. And so one day I just told myself, I’m going to start living instead. I’m going to start advocating for people like me. I’m going to start being part of United We Dream and helping them with text banking or canvassing. And I think that the youth of today can do the same. It’s going to empower them. It’s going to make them feel better about themselves. And they will have more confidence as well. If I wouldn’t have done all of this, I wouldn’t be the person I am today.

Oprah: What keeps you grounded in continuing to fight for protections for all immigrants? 

Aurora: I think what keeps me grounded is staying connected to my community. Staying connected to what’s going on — the policies, the laws. I think just staying connected to social media. And also just staying grounded within yourself. Taking care of your mental health. Putting yourself first, too. It’s okay to put everyone else first, but you can’t really help everyone else unless you help yourself. What’s helped me is writing about my situations, about my experiences. Meditating. And receiving help from everyone else makes you stay grounded. If you think “I can do it all on my own,” you really can’t. You have to also have that supportive circle around you.

Oprah: Coming from a background of being an undocumented immigrant, knowing who to trust and just asking for help can be really tough, but so necessary.

Oprah: Is there anything else that you would like to highlight?

Aurora: Something that I would like to highlight is just to tell everyone that we should spread positivity, not negativity, around topics like this. Because if we don’t talk about it, then how do we expect things to change? I think we should just keep moving forward. Do not let this deter us from what can happen to us in the future. Because even though it can seem kind of distant, I feel like something great is going to happen one day, especially for my undocumented community. A lot of people who’ve had their DACA on hold — I think that great things are going to happen for us.

We’re the ones who can create a whole movement. We can move mountains. Nothing’s impossible. And I just always have that mentality. Before, I would always feel like these people are better than me. These people have these opportunities. These people have a different skin color than I do. And I just always felt like I couldn’t do much. But then I think to myself: No, you can create change. Your ancestors were the ones who built this land. So what makes you think you can’t?

Oprah: I love that. And immigrants are just, not only hard working, but also the ingenuity, imagination, and creativity that we have in our community is beyond anything that I have seen. And I’ve been exposed to so many other communities, but it’s like you can’t find that energy anywhere else, to be honest.

Aurora: And we’re powerful. People think that we’re like closed minded, or that we don’t know much. But we’re powerful and mindful of what’s going on around us. I don’t think that there’s anyone like us. We’re the leaders of today and tomorrow.

Note: After recording this interview, Aurora shared that she will finally get the chance to attend college through a scholarship awarded to her by TheDream.US — the nation’s largest college and career success program for undocumented immigrant youth. She hopes that her story will inspire other undocumented youth to keep working towards their dreams, even in the face of uncertainty.

Oprah Cunningham is the strategic communications associate at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.