Until quite recently Julissa was undocumented – a person some are calling an “illegal.” This meant she spent most of her 20s building a career while having to stay under the legal radar. Finding her place in the land of stars and stripes wasn’t easy, especially since her family had returned to Mexico. Julissa had to personally call the Senator of Texas to request that she be able to attend college. No doubt this constant sink-or-swim experience helped fuel her success.
Reflecting on the moment she became a legal citizen, Julissa says this in her memoir:
“America is still the shining beacon of the world. I kept wiping away my tears, simply overwhelmed to think that this day was finally here, and that never again would I have to live in fear of being deported from the country I loved. Never again would anyone be able to question that I was American.”
Julissa’s story says there’s many ways to understand ‘American.’ For some it depends only on where you were born, but for us Julissa’s story reminds us how we participate in society is vitally important. Shouldn’t our values and care for others carry even more weight?
These days, Julissa is committed to telling her personal story and helping to make the pathway to *American* easier for those like her.
Thanks, Julissa – you’re the America we feel patriotic about.
Read her recent article arguing against the recent Texas’ SB4 bill:
#SB4 is essentially a “show me your papers” law that is set to create an environment for racial profiling https://t.co/OYW9sfNWNN #NOT1MORE
— Julissa Arce (@julissaarce) May 17, 2017
