A respected, beloved and long-time East Texas teacher who has lived in the United States legally for most of the last 32 years is facing deportation to a country she doesn’t know.
One she runs the risk of never returning to America if deported. In this reality, she would leave behind her students, her classroom, her husband, her two children, and her assets.
The political rollercoaster for immigration reform has gone up and down each time there is a new president. With a Democrat being elected president, there is hope again temporary residency would become permanent. However, a Republican Texas senator who sees the benefit of "dreamers" thinks there is a "zero percent" chance legislation will pass. In the same sentence, he says, “They've grown up with our kids, attended the same churches, shopped in the same grocery stores, and defended our freedoms in the United States Military."
Awaiting a pathway to freedom
Attempts to create a pathway to citizenship for dreamers have been made and have passed the House of Representatives multiple times without success.
Recently, after the bill was introduced to the House of Representatives on March 3, 2021. Representatives voted on to pass H.R. 6, the American Dream and Promise Act, in the House.
There were 228 representatives who voted yes, and 197 who voted no. Of the 228 who voted yes, there were 219 Democrats and nine Republicans. All 197 representatives who voted "no" were Republican.
There were five representatives who were classified as “not voting,” including East Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler. A document sent to the House of Representatives from his office said he was not in attendance at the time of voting due to a death in his family.
The American Dream and Promise Act was passed and headed toward the Senate on March 18. Dreamers are hopeful and await their fate that this year, as years of struggle and limbo will be placed behind them.
A teacher in peril
This is the reality that a fifth-grade bilingual teacher at Longview ISD's J.L. Everhart Magnet Elementary School faces if H.R. 6 fails to pass the Senate once again.
Bitia Saravia, Daca Recipient and fifth grade bilingual teacher at J.L. Everhart Magnet Elementary at Longview ISD, demonstrates how to solve a math equation for her summer class students.
Bitia Saravia arrived in the United States at the age of 2 with her family, who was escaping the war and violence of El Salvador in the late 1980s.
She grew up in Houston and didn’t really understand the fact that she was undocumented, until high school.
“All my friends were getting driver’s licenses and I couldn't. They were getting jobs and I didn’t,” she said.
As her friends searched for options in colleges and universities, it became a question of, “Can I even go to college?”
Temporary Protection Status, or TPS, became an option for Saravia because she was from El Salvador. The status is given to those who come from designated countries chosen by the Secretary of Homeland Security due to conditions in the country that temporarily prevent those who came from there, from returning safely or adequately.
Since there was war and violence in El Salvador, a country that was and still is a designated country for TPS, Saravia was granted TPS. Opportunities opened up for her.
At 17, she began working.
There was an unfortunate mix-up with Saravia’s attorney who handled her TPS, and the fingerprinting section of the filing did not get paid. As a result, Saravia lost her protective status over the clerical issue.
By the time she lost her status, Saravia had already enrolled at the University of Texas at Tyler and had a job as a server at a local chain restaurant. She was able to continue the path she was on as she was never asked to update her paperwork that revealed her status.
In 2009, Saravia graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education and interdisciplinary studies. This is usually when an individual would secure employment in their field and work toward their personal goals, but this was not the case for Saravia.
She was an undocumented immigrant in the United States after losing her protective status. She knew she couldn’t move forward to the next step of her life until something was done, so she kept her job as a server, while holding her bachelor’s degree from UT Tyler, and got paid $2.13 an hour.
She was eventually promoted to manager, not knowing if she was ever going to be able to practice her profession or not.
From 2006 to 2012, this was her limbo.
“Obviously I was very grateful I had a job, but it was very depressing working in a job that wasn't what I felt was my calling. It wasn’t what I wanted to do with my life. I felt very much limited and stuck. At that moment, it’s very frustrating. I had a bachelor’s degree working for $2.13 an hour,” she said.
Saravia said that she had so many talents and ways to contribute, but she felt as if she wasn’t being allowed to contribute.
“This is the only country I’ve ever known, I got here when I was 2. This is the only country I’ve ever pledged allegiance to, even though I’m not a citizen of it. I’ve been taught this is the American Dream, the land of opportunity, and to love a country so much that you don’t feel loves you back, was just a really dark moment,” Saravia said.
A flickering light
In 2012, after going through a stagnant time of her life, most worries ended for her. The Obama Administration presented the program that would once again open opportunities for her life. She was able to apply for DACA.
A year later, she was granted DACA and was able to begin teaching. Ever since, she’s been at the same school district and she loves what she does.
Bitia Saravia, Daca Recipient and fifth grade bilingual teacher at J.L. Everhart Magnet Elementary at Longview ISD, reads a book to her summer classroom students.
“I honestly can’t imagine not being able to be a teacher. This job has allowed me to provide for my family,” Saravia said.
Saravia married a U.S. citizen, which creates a pathway for her to apply for citizenship. This route, however, would require her to return to a country she has never known.
“I’ve never been there since I was 2, and I’m 34 now,” she said.
Bitia Saravia, Daca Recipient and fifth grade bilingual teacher at J.L. Everhart Magnet Elementary at Longview ISD, demonstrates how to solve a math equation to her summer class students.
Because Saravia lived in the United States as an undocumented immigrant for a period of time, applying for citizenship through her husband is not the preferred way to obtain citizenship. The penalty for being undocumented in the U.S. for over a year requires the individual to return to their home country for a number of years, up to 10 years. And in some instances, the individual may not have permission to ever return to the United States.
“That’s why we haven’t wanted to explore my husband petitioning for me, because it’s a requirement. I’m hoping that, if they create a pathway to citizenship for dreamers, it wouldn’t require us to go back to our country to do that,” Saravia said.
Another setback
When DACA was taken away by the Trump Administration, the family of four felt as if there wasn’t another alternative, so they began to follow that path of filling through her husband for Saravia to obtain citizenship that way.
She now faces deportation to a country, one she runs the risk of never returning from.
“I have my family here, this is the only place I’ve ever known. We have two kids. It would greatly affect our family in a positive way if the Dream Act does get passed,” Saravia said.
The 34-year-old teacher is now holding her breath, awaiting the fate of the American Dream and Promise Act.
Bitia Saravia, Daca Recipient and fifth grade bilingual teacher at J.L. Everhart Magnet Elementary at Longview ISD, interacts with her classroom students as they attempt to solve the math equation on the board.
Saravia describes DACA as a temporary band-aid that has helped her advance in life. It allowed her to get her foot in the door and be able to use her talents, contribute to the community and follow her passion at Longview ISD.
Waiting for a solution
“I’m about to start my ninth year teaching this fall and I’ve had hundreds of students and I love them dearly. I think about, what if I never had the opportunity to never have these kids in my life,” she said.
Saravia still holds DACA status and is waiting to hear the results of her husband petitioning for her to receive citizenship. If the American Dream and Promise Act was passed, she would attempt to pause the process through her husband and pursue the new law to gain her citizenship, as it most likely would not require her to return to El Salvador for a number of years.
“If it did pass, I would want to be a citizen of the only country I’ve ever known — the country I’ve contributed to, that I feel like I help make a better place,” she said.
These days, Saravia has had difficult conversations with her family.
“These are the conversations I have to have with my 6-year-old daughter. I have to tell her that this is a possibility and it’s important for me that my daughter understand that, if I ever left this country, it wasn’t by choice, that if I ever left her with her dad behind, that I wasn’t choosing to abandon her, that it wasn’t my choice,” she said.
Saravia has never known El Salvador since she was 2. She said not knowing her country makes her even more uncomfortable about taking her family and moving them there.
“It would be a separation. It would be me going to El Salvador and my husband and kids being here. Me becoming a citizen would take away that dark cloud of a possibility that I wouldn’t be with my family,” she said.
Saravia spoke about the ignorance of the knowledge of DACA, saying she often hears misconceptions that DACA recipients are still children. Today, a large portion of them are adults that now contribute to society and pay taxes.
“They think that we’re here to take when we’re here to give,” she said. “We pay into a system we can’t take out of. We pay taxes to a government that I can’t vote in. I get no say in who represents me, but their vote affects my everyday life, so I don’t get a say in that."
She also said there is a common misconception in people who come from foreign countries. She often hears they want to come to the United States to do bad things that are happening in their home countries, but in reality, those immigrating from places like such, have come to the U.S. to escape those experiences.
“Like no, we’re fleeing to do the opposite. We want to make our communities better, we want to live a peaceful life here. We’re not here to cause trouble. I feel like we give so much more to our communities than we’re allowed to take,” Saravia said.
Saravia has won the lamplighter award twice in her career at Longview ISD in 2018 and again this year. The award is closely described as the teacher of the year, but chosen by a teacher’s students instead of their fellow peers.
The moment she finally gains citizenship, Saravia said she is most excited to vote and travel. The first place she would travel to is some of the safest places in her home country of El Salvador.
History
Dreamers, also known as recipients of DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, were given the opportunity in June 2012 when the Obama Administration created the program to help undocumented individuals who were brought to the United States as children, many of which have spent most of their lives living in the United States.
The Trump Administration began to make efforts to remove the program by September 2017. With about 11 million undocumented persons living in the United States and with 1.6 million in Texas, the administration was unsuccessful in the abolishment of the program.
Lawsuits were filed against the Trump Administration and in June 2020, protection for dreamers was affirmed by the Supreme Court when they ruled the Trump Administration’s decision to end the DACA program “arbitrary” and “capricious” in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.
As a result, the Trump administration began rolling back protections for immigrants, including rejecting new and pending DACA applications.
In January 2021, the Biden administration issued an executive order calling the Secretary of Homeland Security to take all appropriate actions to “preserve and fortify” DACA, with regulations that would make it harder to take away in case the American Dream and Promise Act does not pass.
DACA did two things for recipients: provides a two-year period where the person cannot be deported, as long as a crime is not committed, and allows for two years of work authorization, which comes with a social security number allowing individuals to apply for their driver’s license. DACA recipients renew every two years and must pay the application fee of $495.
The three forms that must be filled out by DACA recipients, Form 1-765 Worksheet, Application for Employment Authorization and Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. {span}DACA recipients renew every two years and must pay the application fee of $495.{/span}
With the American Dream and Promise Act, a solution for dreamers could be established by creating an opportunity to apply for permanent legal status and eventually become eligible for U.S. citizenship.
The American Dream and Promise Act would also cancel the removal of undocumented immigrants who have been continuously physically present in the United States for four years preceding the bill’s enactment, were younger than 18 when they were first brought to the United States, and have no criminal record. Eligible undocumented immigrants must be in school or have graduated, or be serving in the military, or have received an honorable discharge.
After maintaining lawful permanent resident status for five years, these dreamers would then be able to apply to become U.S. citizens.
This is the opportunity three groups of people face: those with TPS, farmworkers and dreamers.
Lawmakers weigh in
“We actually have a fighting chance.” Ginger Young, immigration attorney and counselor at law at Flowers Davis law firm in Tyler, said about the situation and what the future looks like for dreamers.
In advance of a recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, U.S. Senator John Cornyn, R-TX, spoke on the floor and criticized Democrats’ legislation to legalize undocumented immigrants without addressing the ongoing immigration crisis at the U.S. and Mexico border.
“This legislation stands zero chance of passing the senate — zero. It combines some of the most radical proposals from the far left in one massive bill that fails to address the needs of our country,” Cornyn said. “Rather than discuss the humanitarian crisis at the border, our Democratic colleagues have chosen to hold a hearing on a dead-on-arrival bill, and they know it. It’s a remarkable show of priorities."
Cornyn said DACA recipients are a vital part of Texas communities.
“They've grown up with our kids, attended the same churches, shopped in the same grocery stores, and defended our freedoms in the United States Military,” Cornyn said.
Cornyn said Congress cannot pass legislation to provide certainty to dreamers if Democrats and the White House insist on attaching controversial policies or ignoring the immigration crisis at the border.
Gohmert has shown support of requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship.
The American Dream and Promise Act now lies in the Senate, which requires a total of 60 votes to pass.
“Last time I checked, it has 56 votes, and if it doesn’t, there’s some talk that they’re going to possibly put in a filibuster that they could pass it with fewer votes, but that becomes politically dangerous, so if we can get the votes, that would be the best thing,” Young said.
Young advises those who look to obtain citizenship through the possible avenue of the American Dream and Promise Act, to begin working toward getting DACA now.
Tyler immigration lawyer Ginger Young explains the forms that DACA recipients have to fill out.
Requirements include turning 15 years of age after 2017, being enrolled in school, having graduated, or working toward or having obtained a GED or diploma. The applicant must also have arrived before 16 years of age and under the age of 31 and must have a continual presence in the United States for every single year.
“Once the Dream and Promise Act passes, DACA goes away. There is no more DACA, so you have to qualify under the Dream and Promise Act,” she said.
If one qualifies for the Dream and Promise Act and they don’t have DACA, additional proof is required, meaning it could take additional time, sometimes years, to finally obtain citizenship.
“There’s a period of conditional, an eight-year period to meet heightened requirements. You have to show an additional two years of college, additional three years of work, one or the other, and you have to show that you’re paying taxes for a certain period of time. It’s a little harder to get the Dream and Promise Act than it is to get DACA, but it’s a safety net for people who just didn’t get around to filling the DACA,” Young explained.
Young added if a person has had DACA and it has been expired for less than a year, they can renew it. She also said that if one meets the requirements after the conditional year, the person can apply for the Dream and Promise Act to become a resident and eventually obtain citizenship.
“You can see how important it is to get your DACA now because it saves you six to eight years to get a full residency and then it’s a shorter hit to your citizenship,” Young said.
Young said that so far, it’s been a three-year path from residency to citizenship.
For example, if on July 1, 2021, a residency is obtained through the Dream and Promise Act, one can become a citizen on July 1, 2024, if the individual previously had DACA.
Young talked about her clients, and how DACA is a band-aid or a protective bubble.
“It’s hard to think, ‘I want to invest $75,000 into my education, knowing I may not ever be able to work legally.’ I think we owe it to our society, I think we owe it to these kids to pass the Dream Act,” Young said.
Tyler Immigration Lawyer Ginger Young gathers up forms that must be filled out by DACA Recipients.
She also spoke about the financial impact the law would have on the country.
“You have these employers that can’t find employees. We have a huge pool of people, whether they’re DACA kids or immigrants, that would love to be able to do that work. That’s passing laws or regulations or something that allows us to employ. It helps the community, it helps the economy, it helps individuals,” Young said.
According to an analysis by the Center for American Progress, DACA recipients who arrived as children have deep-rooted ties to their communities. In data collected from spring 2020, statistics revealed that approximately 106,090 DACA recipients live in Texas, and the average age of arrival is 7 years old.
In DACA recipients’ fiscal and economic contributions, which include annual tax contributions, spending power, and housing payments of household, DACA recipients in Texas paid approximately $705.2 million in federal taxes, $409.9 million in state and local taxes and contributed approximately $3.4 billion in spending power.
Young said the country can’t afford as a nation to lose the workforce or lose people who are paying taxes into our system.
“People get offended by immigration, they’re on one side or the other typically. There should be no sides. The side should be what’s best for the United States, period,” Young said, calling DACA an easy transition to the American Dream and Promise Act.
If the law passes, Young said the government and different agencies, including United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, are going to have to create forms, regulations and instructions, and must increase their workforce to be able to adjudicate.
She encourages those who plan on applying for the American Dream and Promise Act to file for DACA and get paper trails together or begin working toward the requirements to qualify.
Young is estimating about three million applications if passed into law. The date of when the American Dream and Promise Act will be voted on in the Senate is unknown and depends on the judiciary committee, where it is currently being held.
(Ana Conejo, aconejo@tylerpaper.com contributed to this report)
