He Can't Be American
Chelaka is a friend of mine that I've known for years. But what I didn't know is that he could face deportation one day after the "DACA" program was rescinded. That's when the news felt too close to home.
So I flew to New York to share his story. He is as American as it gets: started a business, hired others, started a family, no criminal record, etc. But for some reason, he's in a weird loophole where he just can't get that citizenship.
Imagine living for 13 years without being able to open a bank account, go to a normal college, take a student loan, drive (!) or even leave the country. Any given day, you could receive a government letter asking you to get out of the country. Your life could be ruined any. given. day.
Then, slowly, you get to become American. He used that opportunity to open a nice business in New York. But that didn't last .
It's hard for me to comprehend that feeling because I never risked real deportation. I am learning, slowly, how to sympathize with people like Chelaka. Imagine having to witness the birth of your daughter on SKYPE because of some stupid visa problems. It is a VERY difficult situation to be in no matter what your political views are.
Initially, I wanted this to be a political video, then I realized that it shouldn't. Bush, Obama, and Trump all tried to fix this in their own "style". So far, no one has managed to actually fix it, including Obama, and the story of Chelaka remains one of 800,000 others in the US
