It’s time to collect school supplies for over 250 students in the La Honda Pescadero Unified School District. Visit here (and select “Backpack and School Supplies”) to give online or contact Abby Mohaupt at amohaupt@mypuente.org or 650-262-4095.
Thank you!
In 2012, President Obama issued an Executive Order creating a program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Many young men and women that arrived in the United States as young children found in this program the comfort to come out of the shadows, become civically engaged, and live productive lives by pursuing their education and accessing better jobs. At Puente, we were able to respond immediately by contacting every youth we knew who was potentially eligible and provide assistance to complete their DACA applications through pro-bono attorneys. (See Puente’s story: Puente helps bring youth into the light.)
Later in 2014, through a new Executive Order, the President authorized a program for parents of U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents (DAPA), as well as an extension of DACA to benefit even a wider range of youth. Almost immediately, the new programs were put on hold by a District Court in Texas. At Puente, we were assisting many community members, including Susana Arias (pictured below), with applications and had to put those on hold, too. (See Puente’s story: Trapped: local immigrants hope for legal relief, with Puente’s help.)
Speaking with Susana Arias yesterday about the Supreme Court decision, she said:
“I feel sad because I was expecting them to approve it. I feel impotent because many people have done a lot for this to happen and with this decision it is like going back to the beginning. Mostly I feel that it is better to have a TIE than aNO. We will keep fighting for this to happen. We will keep trying our best to prove that what we are asking for is worthy. Hope dies last.”
Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 4-4 on the extension of DACA and DAPA. This tie vote means the lower court’s ruling to block the program stands.
The ripple effects for families on the South Coast
Many families and advocacy groups in the country have been waiting for the Supreme Court to issue a decision on this case. Their ruling yesterday reveals unfortunate news for many in our community and millions of other families around the country. On the South Coast, it directly impacts 120 parents that Puente had already identified and worked with to collect the necessary documents and save for the anticipated application fee. They are mostly farmworkers men and women who are the backbone of our agriculture industry.
For families here and around the country, this means they will not be eligible for protection from deportation or for permits that will allow them to work legally in the U.S.
“I feel disappointed because we were waiting for this opportunity to work legally and stop being seen as a burden to the United States, which we are not. We pay our taxes and we want to work legally. I came here in 2001 seeking a better future for my family. The economy in Guanajuato was very bad,” says Lucia Herrera, mother of 3, English as a Second Language Student, Early Childhood Educator in training. (Her name has been changed.)
President Obama called the decision “heartbreaking for the millions of immigrants who have made their lives here.”
Just yesterday, a local youth attending college to become a veterinarian was denied an internship with a vet in Half Moon Bay because of her legal status. She was counting on the Supreme Court to rule in favor of her having a work permit. She has been in the U.S. for many years, is a graduate of Pescadero High School, and is pursuing higher education. She has done her part to be involved in her community. Today her future is unknown.
We want to clarify to our friends and current DACA holders that the program authorized in 2012 is still in effect and yesterday’s court decision does not impact that program. We have seen the benefits of employment authorization in the lives of our young people and we will continue to advocate for the families that rely on programs such as this to live without fear. (See Puente’s story:Three-year milestone finds DACA youth thriving at school and work.)
We are devastated to know our neighbors and friends will remain in the shadows. We pledge to do whatever we can to make sure that every person that lives in our community has the opportunity to live up to their highest hopes and dreams.
Rita Mancera
Executive Director, PUENTE
Puente is hosting a Law Night on Tuesday, June 28, at 7:00 pm, in the multipurpose room of Pescadero Elementary. More information about the implications of the Supreme Court decision will be provided there. Other partner organizations will also address employment rights and landlord-tenants’ rights. Please join us!
If you cannot make it, please pass the following information on to your friends and families:
One of the weirdest – and best – moments of Brandon Marin’s summer so far was a team-building game he played during orientation for Puente’s Youth Leadership and Employment Program, called “Moles.” Students had to balance on tree stumps in groups, and find ways to work together to avoid falling off.
“We all had to share a stump. It’s a small stump. And we all had to, like, hold on to each other so we didn’t fall off. We all laughed a lot,” says Marin.
That night at YMCA Camp Jones Gulch (one of the first sleep-away camp experience for many of these students), the group bonded around a campfire. Marin’s cabin stayed up past midnight, telling local ghost stories and having an animated and insightful conversation about current issues for youth . It changed how he saw the other kids at school, especially the ones he doesn’t talk to.
“I’ve never really hung out with the cool kids, I guess” Brandon has focused more on school and family.
Orientation offered the first surprises of the summer for the 34 students in Puente’s youth program. In its tenth year, the program continues to draw a mix of participants aged 14 to 21 – boys and girls, Latino and Anglo – with the promise of a paid summer internship. Students get to work in the education sector, as summer camp counselors, and at regional nonprofits and companies. They emerge strong and confident with a set of marketable job skills, new friends, and an incomparable experience.
The work is only part of it. It’s about improving students’ academic performance at school, building a vision for college, helping them put together an updated resume and cover letter, and exposing them to the world of adulthood – as Marin discovered last summer. The athletic sophomore credits his first summer with Puente, as a freshman, with a new perspective on the value of work and getting good grades at school.
Youth at their program orientation.
“I feel like I’ve matured a lot more compared to last year. The program’s intensive. I realized that when I got to high school I needed to do better,” he says.
To drive the point home at orientation, Puente asked a panel of recent high school graduates to discuss important academic requirements for graduation. A separate panel of college students and graduates spoke openly and frankly about the college experience and how to be better prepared. Puente staff also personally work on-on-one with students on their summer reading projects to help them have a strong start at school in August.
“This program is very unique. We do a very good job of embracing education and having that be a part of everything we do, from beginning to end,” says Puente Education Director Noel Chavez.
The importance of education may seem obvious, but not to some students in Pescadero, who sometimes have remedial schoolwork in the summer or earn barely passing grades. Adrian Amezquita-Martinez, 14, nearly failed his freshman year. This is his first summer with Puente.
“My mom wanted me to do it. l’m struggling in school and it would really help boost up my grades and my GPA,” says Amezquita-Martinez, who only just avoided summer school. He recently decided to go to a four-year college so he can get the best possible job to support his family. His mother is single and raising three children with what she can earn working in agriculture.
He and his cohort will be having lots of fun this summer, too. Puente is sponsoring field trips to UC Berkeley, Santa Clara University, the San Jose Museum of Art and San Francisco’s Mission District.
This year, students will also learn about film editing, thanks to a partnership with NV4Y, An outreach project of the League of Women Voters of South San Mateo County and Palo Alto. They will use their camerawork and creativity to tell their own stories, with the goal of making a film from scratch and presenting it to the group at the end of the summer.
“We live in a part of Silicon Valley where everything is technology-driven. They’ll learn a lot about each other and from each other. They’ll learn they can create their own stories and have a positive impact on the community,” says Chavez. Orientation also included CPR training, a workshop on sexual health, and tips on providing good customer service.
For many youth, the best part is what they learn on the job. Depending on their age, interests and level of experience, they could be working at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, or at Cañada College, mentoring high school students – two new internships Puente helped create this year. They could be supervising preschoolers at the Half Moon Bay Library or be counselors, and role models, to the younger kids attending summer camp.
What Brandon Marin wants this summer is the chance to learn on the job. He wants to be a radiologist someday. But for now, since he is taking summer classes, he’ll be learning how to interact with co-workers and the public at the Puente office in Pescadero, while Adrian supports the local district Panther Camp working in the classroom assisting the teacher.
We are grateful for the generous support of Kim and Philip Schiller, the Sobrato Family Foundation, Philanthropic Ventures Foundation, the La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District, Wells Fargo and many individual donors who all help make our Youth Leadership program possible in 2016.
You can help, too! Please donate today.
