Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/297225
His worst fears came true when his aunt was deported. H e c r i e s a t t h e m e m o r y o f I m m i g r a t i o n a n d C u s t o m s E n f o r c e m e n t ( I C E ) t a k i n g her away. " I t w a s j u s t h e a r t b r e a k - ing," he recalls, wiping away tears. "She had three daugh- ters that we took care of. We were very close. It was very hard on my family." Living in limbo "My students don't like to share that they are undocumented at fi rst, but once they hear they can trust me, they share," says Mary Jewell, a Spanish, history and English teacher at Mira Mesa High School in San Diego. "It's not their fault. They were brought here by their parents with the intention of giving them a better life." Her students, many of whom are under 16 and too young to file for DACA, live in uncertainty. "They worry they might get deported or not be able to work. Without feeling you are part of the system in some way, what's the motivation to work hard?" One 18-year-old student was picked up by ICE while waiting at a trolley "Immigration is a touchy subject, and lots of politicians seem to forget that it's about families and peoples' lives," says Anthony Ng (wearing sunglasses), a spokesperson for Asian Americans Advancing Justice who put himself through UC Irvine, graduating in 2011. "America was created by immigrants, and that's what makes us a unique country." Feature FAMOUS PEOPLE WHO WERE FORMERLY UNDOCUMENTED station on her way to a volunteer job. She was put in a detention center. Teachers wrote letters of support. She was released and is now in college. "My school is close to the border, and a lot of the kids are afraid to go on fi eld trips to visit colleges, because they have to pass immigration checkpoints," says Jewell, San Diego Education Association. "When the kids see the Grammy Award-winning musician Luis Enrique Nicaragua Actor Michael J. Fox Canada Actress Salma Hayek Mexico Musician John Lennon Great Britain 26 A P R I L 2 0 1 4 Educator 04 Apr 2014 v2.5 int.indd 26 4/15/14 2:21 PM