"What do I fight for?" An undocumented student speaks out

by Clara Mejia
“What are you fighting for?” That was  the question from the stage in front of the White House on February 16, where thousands of immigrants and their supporters had gathered to protest the Trump administration's attacks on immigrant workers. As people took the mic on this "Day Without Immigrants" to speak out, I turned the question on myself, an undocumented student at Georgetown University, an immigrant from Mexico. What do I fight for? Like many in this struggle, I fight for justice and I fight for civil rights. I fight for the rights of undocumented students like me to an education. I fight not to be reduced to a statistic, not to have our stories criminalized. I fight to remind my fellow Americans that what makes this nation great are the hopes and dreams, the blood, sweat and tears shed by millions upon millions of immigrants just like me, just like them. I fight to show that our struggles matter. Our existence matters. What do you fight for? 
Clara Mejia is an intern at the Metro Washington Council, AFL-CIO

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