Faces of Dreamers: Four Harvard University Students Recount Their Journeys

This is one in a series of posts on individual Dreamers, undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as young children, many of whom are under threat of deportation following the Trump administration’s decision last month to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, or DACA.

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Harvard University (MA) student Jin Park remembers being told to always be mindful of his surroundings growing up in New York City, to keep quiet about being undocumented, and to avoid busy streets where he might encounter immigration agents.

Park is one of four undocumented Harvard undergraduates who spoke to the Harvard Gazette in May, prior to the Trump administration’s decision in September to rescind DACA, about their challenges, concerns, and hopes. Read their stories, in their own words, by clicking here.

Left to right: Jin Park ’18 is an undocumented immigrant from South Korea and New York. He discovered his legal status after being rejected for an internship. Laura Veira-Ramirez ’20 came out about her illegal status when she delivered her valedictorian speech at her high school graduation. Bruno Villegas McCubbin ’19 is from Peru and California. Brenda Esqueda Morales ’20 is from Mexico and Nebraska. Her father has been in deportation proceedings since before her high school graduation. Photos courtesy of Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff Photographer