If you weren’t able to catch Walter Lara and Papers, the Movie director Anne Galisky on CNN with Rick Sanchez last Thursday, please take the time to watch the video here:

Undocumented students have shown great courage and perseverance over the years and Walter Lara is certainly no exception. After being faced with an order of deportation, he launched a national campaign with the help of many national and grassroots organizations and was granted a one year stay by DHS. Since then, he has become one of the more well-known voices of the DREAM Act movement. And last Thursday, he didn’t disappoint. Walter was a guest, along with Ann Galisky, director of the wonderful movie “Papers, The Movie,” on Rick Sanchez’s show on CNN.

Rick Sanchez has always been supportive of the DREAM Act and undocumented students, having had DREAM Act student Juan Gomez in the past. And as such, he understands that undocumented students are American in every way. As he said, we have grown up in the United States, we speak English perfectly, and we sound and feel American. However, we’re not given the same opportunities our friends and classmates get, despite our educational achievements.

Instead, we are treated as “illegal immigrants” despite the fact that, as Walter said, we have done nothing wrong. And Rick is correct in saying that the usage of that word to describe undocumented students is both hurtful and painful. Perhaps, an issue that is not discussed often enough is the fact that the situations undocumented students are faced with are often the cause of emotional distress and depression in many of these students. We consider ourselves American and see no major difference between our classmates and ourselves, yet we’re treated differently by the government and society.

This issue should not be taken lightly. People need to be aware that undocumented students are not “illegal.” No human being is “illegal” and that word should be banned from our vocabulary when describing a person.  But we should also remember that, as one of my close friends always says, “This too shall pass.” This situation we are being faced with today will pass and we will be able to live our lives as the Americans that we are.

Thank you Walter for the courage you have shown and thank you Anne for making this wonderful film. Also, thank you Rick Sanchez for bringing the issue of undocumented students into the national spotlight.