American Dream Deferred

Take a moment to listen to Hector Rivas tell some of his story during a panel discussion on immigration reform held June 10 at Harbor Homes. The event was hosted by Service Employees International Union, Americans By Choice and the New Hampshire Alliance for Immigrants and Refugees. 

The edited version of his emotional video version of his story posted here does not include the beginning of his journey – he arrived in the U.S. in 2004 with his family, who came from El Salvador to escape the escalating violence there, and to build a better life for their children.

Rivas spoke no English when he got here, but quickly mastered the language and excelled academically. He took Advance Placement courses and joined the Junior ROTC. Because he was undocumented, he was not able to accept an offer by the U.S. Navy to attend an engineering program in Florida.

Disappointed but not deterred, he continued to work hard and graduated No. 3 in his class at North High School, Worcester, Mass., with a 4.0 GPA. But he was unable to pursue his dream of attending the Naval Academy, or apply for scholarships, for lack of U.S. citizenship.

He was advised to apply for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status, which allows him working papers, a Social Security card, and temporary safety from deportation. He is a mechanical engineering student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and is a Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) Cadet, who still dreams of serving in the U.S. military.

He says he worries most that after graduation he will not be able to find work – or serve this country through the military – without a path to citizenship. He's seen many of his peers give up before finishing high school, unable to find the motivation to press on in a system so full of barriers.