Most people that know me never imagined I was an undocumented young man, and why should they think otherwise? I remember one day I went to apply for college at TCC and the teller asked me for my social security number. When I said I did not have one, she said that I would have to pay more as an international student. I asked her why I was being treated differently if I was just like anyone else. She hesitated to answer saying, “You are right but there is nothing I can do”.

The way I found out I was undocumented was one day in school, I earned a scholarships from “Who’s Who”, an organization that provides scholarships to students that are outstanding in school. I went to the meeting and they got everyone fired up, and happy about the opportunities presented at the meeting. At the end of the meeting they asked me for a green card and I didn’t even know what that was. My dad told me, son you don’t have a social security, I felt inferior and lost – I didn’t get the scholarships, but I didn’t lose hope.

I have always been one of the best of my class if not the best. I always thought of school as the place I would always be at.

I did my research and found out there are no ways to obtain legal permanent residency in this country, no matter how hard I worked. I would never go back to Honduras, the country in which I was born, because there are many gangs there, I would probably get killed there. Not to mention, I don’t even know the people there. Also, I am primarily an American for crying aloud. I don’t think any American would like to be thrown out from the place they call home.

Sometimes, being undocumented feels like a soccer game. Everyone gets to play but you are always on the bench waiting for the coach to put you in the game. But it is worse because being undocumented isn’t easy, it isn’t fun.

Many small businesses could be started, it would feel as a small wave of entrepreneurs and professionals. Many of us would be dyeing for our country in the military; this is who we are, and this is who we could be as DREAM ACT beneficiaries. I would much rather die serving my country than spending my life as undocumented student. The status quo is not acceptable and we are no longer kids. As DREAM beneficiaries age, the conditions become unbearable.

Since I first heard of the DREAM ACT in 2005, 5 years ago, I have been interested in getting involved, and fighting for the cause. It is definitely a human rights issue, more than an immigration issue (or perhaps a combination of both), but as a DREAM ACT student this is a human rights issue. We are like everyone else, but we have less rights? This is one of the reasons why we need the DREAM ACT now. It is not only about me or the issue itself, it is about the many DREAM students around America that are barred from their DREAMS and of getting into a higher education. We are being held back, and we can’t give back to the country we love so much. I would think the U.S. would like to see us educated, and being tax paying individuals rather than “living in the shadows” where there is no light at the end of the tunnel and we can’t contribute back to our society.

Pass the DREAM Act now.