With nearly 300,000 undocumented immigrants in Arizona, much of the state is directly affected by the influx of the specific population.
According to the Pew Research Center, a sharp drop in the number of undocumented workers occurred by 40 percent from 2007 to 2012, many Arizonans, documented or otherwise, have seen an economic shift that parallels this change.
Kyle Longley, author and professor of history at Arizona State University, has specialized in research surrounding Latin American relations with the United States, as well as immigration patterns and their effects.
He sees first hand the dependence Arizona has on the undocumented populations.
“Mexican labor has been a fundamental part of Arizona’s economic development since the 18th century.” He continues, “Whether it be the agricultural industry, the mining industry, or the construction industry, if you pulled out the undocumented workers right now, those industries would possibly collapse.”
Yet, at the height of illegal immigration in Arizona, the Federation for American Immigration Reform calculated that undocumented people cost state taxpayers more than $1billion a year for services ranging from healthcare, to education.
Although the state took an economic hit when many undocumented workers left, benefits did arise out of stricter immigration laws at the turn of the decade, correlating to an exodus of undocumented people.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Wages rose for both construction workers and farm works between 10-15 percent as Arizona's economy built again.
It may be one thing to analyze the data, but it’s a very different experience to live through the legislative and economic shift, especially as a teenager. Below are the personal stories of "Dreamers" that call Arizona home.
According to the Pew Research Center, a sharp drop in the number of undocumented workers occurred by 40 percent from 2007 to 2012, many Arizonans, documented or otherwise, have seen an economic shift that parallels this change.
Kyle Longley, author and professor of history at Arizona State University, has specialized in research surrounding Latin American relations with the United States, as well as immigration patterns and their effects.
He sees first hand the dependence Arizona has on the undocumented populations.
“Mexican labor has been a fundamental part of Arizona’s economic development since the 18th century.” He continues, “Whether it be the agricultural industry, the mining industry, or the construction industry, if you pulled out the undocumented workers right now, those industries would possibly collapse.”
Yet, at the height of illegal immigration in Arizona, the Federation for American Immigration Reform calculated that undocumented people cost state taxpayers more than $1billion a year for services ranging from healthcare, to education.
Although the state took an economic hit when many undocumented workers left, benefits did arise out of stricter immigration laws at the turn of the decade, correlating to an exodus of undocumented people.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Wages rose for both construction workers and farm works between 10-15 percent as Arizona's economy built again.
It may be one thing to analyze the data, but it’s a very different experience to live through the legislative and economic shift, especially as a teenager. Below are the personal stories of "Dreamers" that call Arizona home.
Author and ASU Professor, Kyle Longley on how anti-immigrant sentiments vary accross Arizona.
Edwin Sicairos
Q: What was it like being an undocumented student?
A: "I remember the kids being in the classroom, and the kids are learning multiplication, division, and writing little mini-essays, while I'm in the back learning my A-B-C's and 1-2-3's. So it felt like I had just reversed back a few years and I had to start all over again."
After years of fighting with classmates. Sicairos decided to make a change in high school.
"And sure enough, I became that kid that everyone wanted to be like and look up to, completely opposite of the kid I used to be in middle school. But for some reason, I still had this void in my heart. I still can't get a driver's license, I can't get a job like most 16-year-olds, because I had built this world, this status for myself. I didn't want to talk about it to my friends. Nobody knew that I was undocumented, and I didn't want to tell them that."
Sicaros found a Christian community called Young Life. He explained the how he clung to faith when confronted with reality as a young, undocumented student. It was through contacts at Young Life that he found out about DACA...
After years of fighting with classmates. Sicairos decided to make a change in high school.
"And sure enough, I became that kid that everyone wanted to be like and look up to, completely opposite of the kid I used to be in middle school. But for some reason, I still had this void in my heart. I still can't get a driver's license, I can't get a job like most 16-year-olds, because I had built this world, this status for myself. I didn't want to talk about it to my friends. Nobody knew that I was undocumented, and I didn't want to tell them that."
Sicaros found a Christian community called Young Life. He explained the how he clung to faith when confronted with reality as a young, undocumented student. It was through contacts at Young Life that he found out about DACA...
Q: how did daca change your life?
In 2012, President Barak Obama signed an executive order called DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). The action allows temporary relief from deportation for undocumented youth, also known as Dreamers. Arizona has the largest application rate of any state in the country at some 66 percent of all 34,000 people eligible, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
A: "So at this point, God had surrounded me with a community of people who loved me, cared about me, and wanted to make sure that I was taken care of. I remember going through the application process being really excited, thinking, I'm going to get a drivers license! If I was to describe to you what it felt like to go from being undocumented to being documented, I felt like I was also adopted into this new family. All of the sudden, this country wasn't my enemy anymore. This country isn't against me. I'm a part of this country. I pay taxes!"
Sicairos's brother left to Mexico months before DACA was enacted.
"So now he is in Mexico. He has a family, making a thousand pesos, which is like, 70 dollars a week. He has to live off of this. And he has a two little kids, a little boy, a little girl and a wife that he has to take care of. It's sad that he wasn't here to take advantage of [DACA] and I can see that. I see him struggling"
A: "So at this point, God had surrounded me with a community of people who loved me, cared about me, and wanted to make sure that I was taken care of. I remember going through the application process being really excited, thinking, I'm going to get a drivers license! If I was to describe to you what it felt like to go from being undocumented to being documented, I felt like I was also adopted into this new family. All of the sudden, this country wasn't my enemy anymore. This country isn't against me. I'm a part of this country. I pay taxes!"
Sicairos's brother left to Mexico months before DACA was enacted.
"So now he is in Mexico. He has a family, making a thousand pesos, which is like, 70 dollars a week. He has to live off of this. And he has a two little kids, a little boy, a little girl and a wife that he has to take care of. It's sad that he wasn't here to take advantage of [DACA] and I can see that. I see him struggling"
Q: what are the feelings among dreamers moving forward, especially with the new president-elect?
Sicairos works with Phoenix inner-city youth. He says most of them, if not all, have undocumented parents or a legal residency agreement, such as DACA. Sicairos is still waiting for his DACA information to be renewed.
"I can see the fear in their eyes. They joke about it a lot, I think in a way to cope with their fear."
"You know, what's the worst thing that could happen. I get sent back to Mexico, find me a Mexican wife. We grow a farm, and we have chickens and goats and sheep." *Laughs*
"To be honest, I know who is in control of my future. I know that God is for me and not against me. I actually think that God is going to use Donald Trump to do some miraculous thing."
"I can see the fear in their eyes. They joke about it a lot, I think in a way to cope with their fear."
"You know, what's the worst thing that could happen. I get sent back to Mexico, find me a Mexican wife. We grow a farm, and we have chickens and goats and sheep." *Laughs*
"To be honest, I know who is in control of my future. I know that God is for me and not against me. I actually think that God is going to use Donald Trump to do some miraculous thing."
q: what was your reaction to sb 1070?
In April, 2010, Arizona passed senate bill 1070. The law, widely viewed as quite strict, included provisions adding state penalties relating to immigration law enforcement, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. It required police to determine the legal status of someone that is detained or arrested so long there be "reasonable suspicion" that they are undocumented.
A: "I was too busy hanging out with high school students. I was too busy doing my stuff that I couldn't care less about this whole bill. But my family, they would freak out. They started to drive out less because they didn't have licenses. Yeah, it was a scary couple of years to a lot of people. I remember watching Univision. That was all they talked about! As you can tell, I'm a pretty worry free person."
A: "I was too busy hanging out with high school students. I was too busy doing my stuff that I couldn't care less about this whole bill. But my family, they would freak out. They started to drive out less because they didn't have licenses. Yeah, it was a scary couple of years to a lot of people. I remember watching Univision. That was all they talked about! As you can tell, I'm a pretty worry free person."
Luis Roberto Ursua Briceno
Luis Roberto Ursua Briceno arrived in Rio Rico, Arizona with his family when he was five years old. At the time, he and his family had tourist visas, as they only planned to stay a year and a half at the most. But they ended up overstaying their visas and so Briceno has grown up in the United States.
Though he was undocumented for all of his schooling, Briceno worked hard. In high school, he took AP classes and spoke at graduation as salutatorian. However, for him, graduation was sad. He said he felt stuck, that the words of promise he spoke to his fellow classmates didn't apply to him because he didn't even have papers that allowed him to drive.
Briceno is one of the many that benefitted from President Obama's executive order for DACA, which he signed in 2012. Briceno is back to the uncertainty that he felt before, and he wants the world to know more about his experience.
Briceno also produced a video and wrote a story that was featured on The New York Times.
Though he was undocumented for all of his schooling, Briceno worked hard. In high school, he took AP classes and spoke at graduation as salutatorian. However, for him, graduation was sad. He said he felt stuck, that the words of promise he spoke to his fellow classmates didn't apply to him because he didn't even have papers that allowed him to drive.
Briceno is one of the many that benefitted from President Obama's executive order for DACA, which he signed in 2012. Briceno is back to the uncertainty that he felt before, and he wants the world to know more about his experience.
Briceno also produced a video and wrote a story that was featured on The New York Times.