“I am a Dreamer. I dream that one day this will all change for the better. I dream for a day where we no longer live in fear for deportation. I dream for human rights. I dream for a good healthcare system. I dream for the United States of America to be the land of the free. I am a Dreamer.”
María Fernanda Arellano Cardenas , Coachella Valley, CA
Maria Arellano is a Dreamer who works as a community health worker at St. Johns Community Health, where she goes out into the community and listen to their needs and make sure they are aware of the resources they can benefit from. She can help people thanks to being a recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program since she was 15 years old.
Once her parents learned about the program, they took her to a lawyer and signed her up for the program, trying to get approved as quickly as possible for fear that the program would be removed. Once the application was submitted, and a month later she was asked for her biometrics.
She remembers waking up at the crack of dawn to drive over to Riverside and wait for her appointment, which was at 9 in the morning. They were early and waited at a nearby Cardenas restaurant, where they had breakfast burritos and prayed.
“I remember praying to God that this would serve a greater purpose in the future,” Maria said. “I prayed that all these adversities we were facing as a family would be temporary and that we would gain stability soon. At the time, all I understood was that this was going to allow me to continue a higher education and work in the United States without fear of deportation.”
It came with open doors and more opportunities for higher education as she was able to complete high school with honors and a 4.0 GPA. She continued her education and received an associate degree in business administration and in 2023 she received her bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in accounting and marketing. She gained her degree while working full time at a retail store to pay for her education because she was not eligible for FAFSA.
Now, Maria has a well-paying job. volunteers and gives back to her community and her country and credits it all with the DACA program.
“From the lawyer that filled out my application to the application fee, the DACA process was difficult, but it was worth it,” she said. “I am a Dreamer. I dream that one day this will all change for the better. I dream for a day where we no longer live in fear for deportation. I dream for human rights. I dream for a good healthcare system. I dream for the United States of America to be the land of the free. I am a Dreamer.”
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