“Riser” Gerson Quinteros’ American Dream
At the age of nine, Gerson Quinteros set off from his native country El Salvador with his godfather, making the long and dangerous overland journey to the United States to be reunited with his mother. He traveled by bus, by car and walked through swampland with a high fever. Walking through the rain, weak and ill, he thought about returning to El Salvador but the will to see his mother again kept him going.
The obstacles didn’t end once Quinteros made it to the United States. At his new school, he didn’t know any English and was bullied by other boys because he was short. As he grew up and began thinking about his future, he learned his legal status would limit his opportunities for college enrollment and scholarships.
He had always kept quiet about his legal status and only talked about it with the friends and school staff members, who he trusted. Things changed in 2014, when Quinteros’ told his story as part of the short documentary, “Risers,” which revolves around Quinteros and three other undocumented students. Inspired after hearing the stories of the other three participants, he agreed to be part of the nonprofit film because he wanted to share his story with a larger audience and become an example that other undocumented students could look up to.
Riser. Dreamer. Those are two words that Quinteros, now 24 and a college senior, would still use to describe himself. Four years after the film came out, he says the experience made him more confident sharing his story publicly and opened the door to new opportunities.
“When I look back, I’m happy that I decided to do the short film. It really gave me more confidence and allowed me to do so many (other) things,” says Quinteros, looking back at the impact “Risers” had in his life.
I met Quinteros for our interview at the student center at the University of the District of Columbia in Washington D.C.’s Van Ness neighborhood. Dressed casually in a striped t-shirt with a pair of sunglasses hanging from the neckline, Quinteros greeted me with a hug and a friendly smile. We sat down at a white table in the lounge area, where other students studied quietly, scattered among the empty tables.
As an undocumented student living in the United States, Quinteros has struggled and fought to build a better life by his mother’s side. He once dreamed of working for the Federal Bureau of Investigations or the Central Intelligence Agency. But his legal status forced him to push those dreams aside and study computer science instead.
“Many people were like, ‘Well, what are you trying to do with that major,’” he recalls, since his legal status would have made it difficult for him to find work in a criminal justice field.
He changed his major to computer science and found a new passion for coaching and teaching younger students. Currently he coaches soccer at Capital City Public Charter School in the District.
As one of 690,000 undocumented youth nationwide currently enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, Quinteros was able to obtain a work permit and attend college. Quinteros is one of the 25,900 undocumented young people from El Salvador, among a total of 800,000 unauthorized immigrants who applied for the DACA program at one time or another, according to Pew Research Center.
March 5 was the deadline for the Trump administration to make a decision about the future of the DACA program. However, there’s been no action from Congress or the White House since the deadline passed, continuing the uncertainty facing Quinteros and hundreds of thousands of others.
“These students are actually working, paying taxes. Some of them are graduating from college and actually working to give back to the economy… and you’re just letting them leave because your immigration system says they are illegal or undocumented,” Quinteros told Univision on February 9, 2017, when asked what he’d like to say directly to President Donald Trump.
Though he says he doesn’t see himself as an activist, Quinteros has stood strong with local nonprofit organizations that defend immigrant rights, even as anti-immigrant sentiments rise in the United States. He occasionally joins protests and has participated in panel discussions to share his story with students at area schools.
“I’ve been working with CASA since 2012 helping them by doing service [work] and volunteering,” says Quinteros, referring to the immigrant advocacy organization based in Maryland. He also volunteers at United We Dream, another organization that fights for DACA and immigrant rights.
Bruna Bouhid, a spokesperson for the DC-based United We Dream, says she is inspired and proud of Quinteros and other undocumented young people for standing up for their beliefs and fighting for better lives in this country.
“Our community is resilient,” she says of DACA recipients and other immigrants.
But months of uncertainty about how–or even when–Congress will decide the fate of the DACA program is taking a toll; making it difficult for DACA recipients to plan their lives, Bouhid says. Undocumented youth, she says, “are in limbo right now.”
Quinteros says the DACA program has been important in his life and the lives of many others in similar straights.
“It gave so many youth the opportunity to come out of their shadows…and say, ‘Okay, now I can apply, get a (work) permit, get a social security (card and)…“work with many people’” he says.
Quinteros remains determined and hopeful that Congress will hear the voices of young immigrants like himself.
In the years since he joined the Dreamer movement, his dreams have evolved, as well. Today, Quinteros is focused on providing for his family members in the United States and back in El Salvador, and contributing to his community.
“I don’t call what I want an “American Dream” because my dream is to graduate, get a job, contribute back to the community, and give an opportunity to those kids who aren’t getting opportunities of being taught sports,” he says. “[It’s] something that is way different than what an American Dream actually is, but that is my dream,” he says, “and I’m going to keep fighting for it.”
—Melissa Paiz
1 Response
Recent Stories
Very inspirational for immigrants of the US to never give up and keep frighting for what they want and what they believe in.