Church community supports DACA recipient
2020 has been a stressful year, and few understand this better than Fernanda, a 31-year-old student who dreams of becoming a lawyer. COVID-19 robbed Fernanda of her primary income source while she was pregnant with her first child, which made it impossible for her to renew essential DACA documents. The prospect of raising a child under fear of potential deportation and the global pandemic was almost too much to bear.
Enter Abundant Love in Action (ALIA), a church group that focuses on refugee aid, racial justice, and other matters that, according to member Adam Green, require “intentional effort and intentional focus.” Green explained that the group was founded because “we felt like we needed to concentrate on those people that were most in need of someone coming alongside them in our society.” ALIA has helped fight for social justice through a variety of strategies, including working at Immigration Resource Center paperwork clinics, and now, the group has raised the funds for Fernanda’s fees.
In his statements, Green clearly expressed the importance of recognizing human equality, which motivated the group to help Fernanda. “The divisions between my children who grew up here and a DACA recipient who grew up here are kind of arbitrary in the grand scheme of things,” he explained.
Once ALIA raised the money, the IRC staff quickly worked to finish the paperwork to ensure that Fernanda received quality care, allowing her to feel at ease with her status and focus on the birth of her child.
Upon hearing the news, Fernanda cried with relief. "I feel like I haven't had a break in a long time, and I've been so stressed. You don't know what this means to me," she said.
Fernanda’s story serves as a powerful testament to the tangible, positive change that communities can easily make. But she’s just one among hundreds of thousands of people facing similarly dire circumstances. Green rightly stated that “immigration work is important because people are important.” And there is still so much work to be done.