Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/297225
border patrol go by, some hold their breath. They are minors, but fear is there. Some of them worry about their parents being deported." Even students who are in elementary school live in fear of deportation, says Oscar Ramos, a third-grade teacher at Sherwood Elementary School in Salinas, where families are mostly migrant farm workers. "It affects them whether they know it or not," says Ramos, Salinas Elementary Teachers Council. "They end up keeping a low profile and limiting their expo- sure to the community. It keeps them from seeking any kind of help because there's fear that there might be a raid. It's a distraction from academic work. They may be asking, 'Is my dad going to come back from work today? What about my mom?'" Growing up in a labor camp, Ramos experienced raids firsthand. He saw baby sitters and close friends of his parents hauled away for deportation. Some adults thought it was funny to yell "Immigration" and see him run, lock the door and hide under the bed. "It's a feeling like no other. You don't know what's going to happen. You don't know where you fit in." When his students talk to him about their fears, he tells them he understands, and reminds them that if their par- ents are deported, they will eventually come back. "I let them know that there are people in the school and community who will help them through whatever happens if they need emotional, financial and other support. Other adults will be there for them." DREAMers are not just Latino Anthony Ng was born in the Philippines. After years of living with his grandmother, he moved to the U.S. in 2001 to join his parents, who had moved here to start a business. Ng assumed he had moved here legally. But when he asked his mother for his Social Security number so he could travel to a leadership class in Washington, D.C., with high school classmates, his mother got "very quiet," and he realized something was wrong. "When most people think of DREAMers, they think of Latinos," says Arlene Inouye. "But about 10 percent are Asian or Pacific Islanders, with Hmong and Vietnamese the fastest-growing groups." Actress Charlize Theron South Africa "Dog whisperer" Cesar Millan Mexico Actor/former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Austria Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas Philippines www.cta.org 27 A P R I L 2 0 1 4 Educator 04 Apr 2014 v2.3 int.indd 27 4/15/14 12:04 AM