For Black DACA Recipients In Texas, It Often Feels 'Impossible To Exist'

KUT 90.5 | By DaLyah Jones

Published November 6, 2017 at 7:42 AM CST

Oluwatoyosi, a chemical engineering major at UT-Austin, prepares to show her collection of ankara clothing at Fest Africa: Africa Uncut.

Editor's note: We have removed the last name of the woman profiled in this story to protect the identity of her parents.

Oluwatoyosi, Toyosi for short, stands observant, her hands clasped in the middle of a crowd of more than 40 people in the basement of Hogg Auditorium. The 21-year-old is showcasing a collection of designs at Fest Africa: Africa Uncut, the Texas African Student Organization鈥檚 annual cultural showcase.

Toyosi is a chemical engineering major with a concentration in textiles at UT-Austin. She says she wants to one day create wearable technology to improve everyday life, like clothing to repel mosquitoes in malarial zones.

She鈥檚 set to graduate in December and she鈥檚 looking for a job, but she has one pressing issue while talking to recruiters.

鈥淚 kind of avoided 鈥� the whole sponsorship question,鈥� Toyosi says. 鈥淚 kind of wanted them to like me first, and then I鈥檒l bring up sponsorship.鈥�

Toyosi needs sponsorship in order to work in the U.S. after she graduates. She's one of fewer than 2 percent of black immigrants receiving DACA protections. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program shields from deportation immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children, but the in September.

Toyosi's DACA status is set to expire in September 2018, but she can't renew it.

Toyosi is one of fewer than 2 percent of black immigrants receiving DACA protections. She was brought to the U.S. from Nigeria when she was 3.

Her parents brought her to the U.S. from Nigeria when she was just 3. Her father was studying IT on a student visa and worked in Houston for a while, but after the 2008 recession his employer wouldn鈥檛 keep sponsoring his visa.

Toyosi's parents applied for green cards in 2001, but still haven鈥檛 received them. Because they were born in the U.S., her 10- and 17-year-old brothers have Social Security numbers

Toyosi says she thought not having a Social Security number and not being able to get a driver鈥檚 license were normal things teenagers dealt with.

鈥淢y parents didn鈥檛 really tell me that I was undocumented," she says, "and so when I was filling all of these forms out to apply for DACA that鈥檚 when I realized like, 鈥極h, this is different.鈥欌€�

After that awareness came fear and isolation.

鈥淲hen they talk about undocumented immigrants," Toyosi says, "they don鈥檛 talk about black undocumented immigrants."

Only 7 percent of the 22 million undocumented people in the U.S. are black, though not all of them are from Africa. The state also saw the greatest increase in population, 111 percent, from 2000 to 2010.

Issues with finding services

After the administration announced it was rescinding DACA, Toyosi went to an informational meeting hosted by the University Leadership Initiative, an immigration organization on campus. That鈥檚 where she met Deborah Alemu, the only other black immigrant in the room of about 100 people.

鈥淲e felt the need to pull something together that embraced both worlds of being undocumented and black and navigating living in the United States with those identities,鈥� says Alemu, membership coordinator for , a network of undocumented black people.

Alemu, whose family is originally from Ethiopia, says the organization was formed because black immigrants were being ignored.

"It often feels that it is impossible to exist as a black undocumented person," she says, "because there are no checkboxes for you."

Undocublack formed in Miami last year. There are chapters in Los Angeles, New York City and in Austin. Alemu says the organization provides health care clinics, legal clinics and information, but it can sometimes be a challenge in places like Texas.

鈥淭here [are] certainly black immigrants [who] speak Spanish, but there鈥檚 a population that doesn鈥檛 as well, so to find resources that are accessible to our communities has been an uphill battle,鈥� she says.

Robert Painter is the director of pro bono programs and communication at , which provides legal services and community outreach to low-income immigrants in Central Texas. He says language barriers can create delays for many immigrants, especially those trying to tap into social services.

鈥淗aving culturally competent resources can be a challenge, because the vast majority of immigrants come from South America, Central America and Mexico,鈥� he says. 鈥淢aybe not so much of the legal services, but other social services are more geared to that population.鈥�

Painter says organizations need to do a better job of reaching out to smaller immigrant populations.

鈥淚f we think that there鈥檚 a particular community that is especially vulnerable to immigration enforcement or violation of their due process rights 鈥� because of the color of their skin," he says, "that鈥檚 a problem we ought to be paying attention to."

Alemu says that鈥檚 exactly what she鈥檚 advocating for.

鈥淭hat may seem innocent,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t might seem coincidental and accidental, but it came down to influential orgs getting a say in policies and that negatively impacting us.鈥�

According to the by the , about 20 percent of immigrants facing detention on criminal grounds are black. Alemu calls this number astounding.

鈥淎 lot of times people ask if citizenship is the goal 鈥� and I say 'no,'鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got black citizens living in the United States who still don鈥檛 have full dignity and full rights.鈥�

Toyosi walks down the runway during her fashion show at Fest Africa: Africa Uncut.

A look ahead

Toyosi says her parents plan to wait until her brother turns 21, so he can file for citizenship for them. Once they become citizens, they can file for Toyosi if she hasn't found a job to sponsor her. This could take decades.

鈥淎merica is the only place I know, and I love this country and it just hurts 'cause this country hates me and I don鈥檛 know why,鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檓 always going to be limited because of my status and that just sucks.鈥�

Unless Congress makes a decision soon, she鈥檒l have to make a plan for after her DACA protection expires Sept. 19. She says she hasn鈥檛 been to Nigeria since she was a toddler.

鈥淒espite all of this stuff going on, you can鈥檛 take away the fact that I have my education, you know,鈥� she says. 鈥淪o, I will celebrate because I am proud of myself and proud of what I accomplished, but I also want to have a job.鈥�

*Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the age of one of Toyosi's brothers and the age required to sponsor a parent's U.S. citizenship.