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THEIR WORK STATUS WAS HARD WON, BUT THEIR PURSUITS MAKE OAK CLIFF SHINE

MORE THAN 11 MILLION undocumented immigrants live in the United States. And some of them are our neighbors. They work and go to school here, and they contribute to our economy and culture. Immigrants, undocumented and otherwise, are responsible for keeping Oak Cliff commercial districts in business during the 1980s and ’90s [see page 22].

Undocumented immigrants live in near-constant fear of deportation, not to mention the stigma of being considered criminals because of their work status. This month, we introduce you to a few of our neighbors who formerly were undocumented workers. They now have work permits and exemption from deportation because of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the executive order from president Barack Obama, or amnesty granted in 1986 from the Reagan administration. But some of them worry that everything they’ve worked for somehow could be taken away.