New Program Gives Young Immigrants Hope

 

This was the first day young illegal immigrants were able to apply for President Obama's new immigration program. Under the plan, immigrants who are younger than 31 and arrived in America before their 16th birthdays are eligible for permits that will allow them to live and work legally in the U.S. for two years.

Some 1.76 million immigrants could be eligible for the program, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Here is a snapshot of the young immigrants who showed up at federal offices around the country today to apply for legal status.


For seventeen-year-old Nataly Montano Vargas, submitting her deferred action application today in Washington, D.C. meant that she did not have to give up on her childhood dream.

"I'm not going to give up on my dreams, because I've wanted to be a doctor since I was six years old," Montano Vargas said today while in line to submit her application. "I don't want to cry but it means so much to me because I got the chance to go to school, I can go to college. And just to work legally in this country, being what I want to be, a doctor."

Nataly lives in Arlington, Virginia and is going to Texas Tech University in the fall. She will be a pre-med student, majoring in cellular molecular biology with a psychology minor. She said she wants to be a cardiac surgeon.

She may seem like the typical seventeen-year-old, about to begin her first year of college -- but for years, Nataly was weighed down by a secret she was too scared to reveal.

"It was really scary at first, because my parents didn't want me to say anything publically, because they were worried about getting deported or, you know, being found out or coming to my house," she said.

Nataly was born in Bolivia and her mother brought her to the United States, leaving her brother and sister behind, held up by visa problems. Her family was not supposed to stay in the U.S. long, she says, only for a couple of months until they could earn some money and return to Bolivia.

Twelve years later her family has not gone back. She's lived in the U.S. without documentation.

"I have not seen my brother or sister for 12 years," she said, fighting back tears.

Over the years, Nataly said, she was "lucky enough" to find some babysitting jobs around her neighborhood in Arlington. But it was never enough money.

"The older I get, I need to work, to support myself. And I try to help my family as much as I can. But it's also hard for them to find work because we're undocumented."

Nataly said her brother and sister in Bolivia are really excited for her for the small step she took today, however temporary.

"They can't wait until my work permit comes out and they are really hoping this goes well. And I'm going to keep working at this, just keep doing this for them."