Highland Park 'Dreamer' Explains Her Immigration Status

HIGHLAND PARK, NJ — Esder Chong, the young DACA-recipient who accompanied Democratic Middlesex County Congressman Frank Pallone to the State of the Union Tuesday night, explained her immigration status to the Asbury Park Press in an interview:

Chong was brought to the United States by her parents when she was 6 years old. Her mother, a registered nurse, brought the family over to the U.S. from Korea in 2005 on a work visa, and the family lived here legally for three years.

However, when the recession hit in 2008, Chong's mother lost her job at a local hospital that same year, and her visa sponsorship along with it.

Her parents decided to stay in New Jersey. They kept working, often taking the graveyard shifts, but never found another job that would give them an opportunity to be sponsored.

When she was in ninth grade, she realized how precarious her family's situation was: Her mother, who rode her bike to work, suffered a serious shoulder injury but refused to go to the hospital.

"We couldn't because we were uninsured, we couldn't get healthcare," Chong told the Asbury Park Press. "We couldn't go to the hospital or the emergency room and that's when I was like, 'Wow, we can't even get basic needs if we don't have papers.'"

When she was in high school, then-President Obama passed the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act, which would not help her parents, but gave Esder the ability to drive legally, work legally and pay taxes. She had to reapply for her status every two years. This past September, President Trump let DACA expire.

She attended Highland Park High School and is currently a sophomore at Rutgers University, Newark. Chong doesn't qualify for in-state financial aid, but she was awarded several scholarships. At Rutgers, she founded RU Dreamers, a club for unauthorized immigrants like herself. They aim to raise awareness of their situation. Rutgers President Robert Barchi has been very vocal about wanting Dreamers to have a path to citizenship.

She said so-called "Dreamers" are often portrayed as Latino, but she wants to show they come from many different backgrounds.

"This is not a Latino issue but an issue that affects all communities," Chong told the Asbury Park Press. "This is a Korean American issue, an Asian issue, black and white. We're as American in virtually every way, except on paper. If I'm not American, then I don't know what American is."

DACA will expire in March, and her status will expire in 2019 if a deal is not reached in Congress.

Photo provided by Congressman Frank Pallone's office.