DACA Supporters Strike A Pose In Aurora

AURORA, IL — Alejandra Garcia Chavez’s portrait hangs in an Aurora gallery as part of a politically-charged, pop-up art exhibit. Her face, adorned with Dia de los Muertos flowers and face paint, stands out among the 105 others whose pictures were taken on a chilly, rainy Wednesday afternoon.

Garcia Chavez first learned of the Inside Out/Dreamers traveling art project through a club she runs at her school, Waubonsee Community College, called Latinos Unidos. She came to the gallery at 1 E. Benton St. (formerly the Aurora Public Library) to once again declare her support the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects her legal immigration status for another two years, at least. The concept was created by French artist JR, whose latest art installation of a giant picnic table between U.S. and Mexico border went viral. With help from Laurene Powell Jobs’ philanthropy organization, Emerson Collective, two roving photo booths are making their way across the country, capturing and displaying enlarged black and white portraits that reflect America’s diversity. The project's purpose is to give communities and local leaders a unique platform to amplify their voices in support of DACA.

The trucks — one for the West Coast and one for the East — started in San Francisco and Champaign a week ago. Since then, the closest photo truck has made its way through Springfield, Naperville and Chicago. Together, they’ll make about 35 stops by the year’s end.

By far, the country with the most DACA applicants is Mexico, where Garcia Chavez was born. The 19-year-old is one of nearly 700,000 young people who are at risk of deportation if Congress doesn’t block the Trump administration’s rescindment of applications. She describes such a fate as, “getting all her accomplishments thrown out.” At this point, she says, this is her country.

“We're just all immigrants, all together. We can make an impact and I definitely want to pass a clean DREAM act." DACA has allowed her to obtain a driver's license, work legally and even accept a scholarship.

By her side is friend and fellow Latino Unidos club member, 18-year-old Giselle Gonzalez. A medical scribe at Rush Copley Medical and a biology major, she doesn’t worry about her own future so much as her parents’. She was born here, and decided to get her picture taken in Naperville and Aurora on behalf of her parents, who are undocumented immigrants.

“In the picture you can see my lab coat with my stethoscope... it meant a lot to my parents. It was a great moment for them, as immigrants, seeing their daughter [like this].”

As a teenager, Giselle remembers having a family meeting on what would happen if her father were to be deported.

“Now, I could probably take custody of my younger brother, being 18, but I remember that day, thinking about this happening and losing everything, our house, my school, having to drop work and going to a country that’s not home to us. It’s not home to my parents.”

Matthew Grimm, 23, is a math major, also at Waubonsee. He considers himself an ally in JR’s mission. His rosy outlook characterizes political borders as arbitrary constructs.

“I’ve lived a very easy life growing up,” he says. “I’m keenly aware of how easy I have it and I just cannot imagine what it’s like to live in constant fear of deportation.” All three expressed frustration about misinformation about dreamers, some of which makes them look bad.

“This project is showing the actual faces of your community. It’s not the 'bad hombres' that you hear on the news,” Giselle explains.

Two portraits belonging to Barbara Hernandez and Sandra Gonzalez were added to the gallery walls later in the day. Hernandez serves as District 8 Kane County Board member and Sandra teaches high school Spanish at West Aurora. Coincidentally, the first time either of them entered the country was in the womb. Like Giselle, Hernandez came for her parents. At the age of 21, she successfully petitioned for their residency. During an internship with Congressman Bill Foster, she learned the downside to U.S. immigration processes, and has since become an advocate for reform. She participated in Inside Out/Dreamers to send a message that goes beyond the Dream Act.

“Just growing up, knowing they couldn't go to their home country was hard. In 2011, my grandfather passed away and I told my dad, 'you can't go to Mexico, you can't see your dad.' He couldn't risk deportation by leaving."

It’s personal for Sandra, too, the daughter of asylum seekers from El Salvador. At the school, there’s no telling how many students are undocumented unless they disclose their status to faculty.

“I would hate to not see them in those seats,” she says of her students. “Schools have to remain apolitical”, she says, but students are scared to come forward with their status. “I’m doing whatever I can to garner enough information to pass along to them.”

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is no longer accepting initial or renewal requests for DACA. On a case-by-case basis, it will consider requests from residents of the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. If Congress doesn't renew DACA, starting March, about a thousand people a day will lose their protected status for two years as permits begin to expire.

Four artists will continue to make stops around the country for Inside Out/Dreamers. The next stop is South Bend, Indiana.

Main images courtesy of Lizzie Lewis. 1st image: Participants pose outside of the Aurora gallery Nov. 1. Image 2: Portraits in Naperville taken Oct. 28. Image 3: Truck in Downtown Chicago Oct. 30.