A radiant human being and grateful PDS student, Ida shares with us the struggles and joys of being a young immigrant in America today. Her mother migrated with her when she was three years old from the Dominican Republic to join her dad in NJ. Ida describes the hardships her family dealt with the first few years of settlement and how things began to look up after opportunities hit her family. She discusses her pride in being an immigrant and how proud she is to have a story to tell. She says she finds strength in the fact that she has a place to come back to and culture she connects with. Ida also comments on her frustrations with understanding our current administration's political action towards immigrants. She says none of what they’re doing is effective and worth it. She doesn’t understand why people hate immigrants so much if they haven’t shown any bad intentions. She notes that immigrants are just here to find a better life and explore. Ida aspires to be an architect and represent Dominican women in this field.
There is a story behind every decision to migrate. What was yours (or your parents)? So my dad was the first to come to America. He found a job working on roofs. My mom wanted to stay in the Dominican Republic but because I was getting very sick and the doctor said it was being separated from my dad she decided to come to America.
What were your (or your parents) hopes for your new life here? Well my parents, especially my mom, wanted me to get a really good education but because of my financial status that wasn’t really working as well. So when I did get accepted to PDS she was more than happy because that was her goal. Her goal was to make sure that I had a chance at a better education that she had when she was in the DR.
Why did you choose to come to this country instead of somewhere else? My dad did have a lot of family here already. They did live in Boston though so I’m not really sure why he chose to live in Trenton, NJ. I never really asked that question.
Were there other options for you? There was the option of just staying in the Dominican Republic. My mom did have a stable job and so did my dad. They were pretty successful over there but because of my dad wanting to come here, we moved.
THE JOURNEY
Who did you come with and who did you leave behind? Did anyone come ahead of you? At first, I left behind my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. But over the years, they’ve been able to come over to the US. So now I live only a block away from my grandparents. My aunts and uncles still live in the DR though.
What was the most difficult part about leaving? Well, when I left I was only three so at the moment it didn’t really affect me. I didn’t really see what was going on. But now, it’s really hard not seeing them seeing me grow up and me not being able to visit them during Thanksgiving or Christmas. For my parents it was hard for them to leave behind everything they had already built.
What was your journey to this new country like? I remember when I was five we lived in a little apartment above a family member’s salon. So she was able to house us above it. I remember it was a struggle living there. We didn’t have enough resources. Sometimes we had to go to the soup kitchen. We had a hard time until my mom found a job at a preschool.
What was it like when you first arrived? I guess I remember being very confused but trusting my mom. I don’t remember being mad I just remember trusting my mom and following her.
What most surprised you? I guess a lot of how society is over here. I thought that when we moved to America that things would be nice and easy because everyone over there says the US is so amazing. When you come here you see the reality of things and how it’s actually hard to live here.
What did you miss most about the country you came from? I miss the community. I miss being able to walk around the block or the little town. Being able to walk into different houses and them knowing your name. You being able to trust people. Being able to run around with my cousins. In the US that doesn’t really happen. My mom is more overprotective here.
Who was most helpful with getting you settled? I mean my mom does talk about some family friends that did help her. My parents mainly helped my. My mom told me everything was going to be ok.
Migration can be hard. Where did you find strength in difficult times? I guess I take a lot of pride in the fact that I’m an immigrant. I know that I’m going to have a story to tell while others they might say I was born in America and I’ve lived here all my life and I’m going to be able to say well I was born in the Dominican Republic and I lived there till I was three. I have a place to go back to every summer and visit and family over there. Just the fact I have a story to tell.
How do you think that migration has changed you? It’s really made me vulnerable and it’s made me embrace difference and change in others. I know my experience has shaped me and it helps me to understand others more when they say their experience changed them. I can relate to them and it opens up this new path for me in a way.
HOPES & REALITIES
What have been your biggest challenges? I would say my parents went through a lot. For me specifically, I don’t think I’ve had a challenge specifically because I’m an immigrant.
What have been your greatest sources of joy? My culture. Being able to eat mangú and salami and enjoying that. Being able to eat different kinds of food. I love food. Food is life. Being able to know different kinds of dances and how to do them correctly. Being able to wear different clothing because in Dominican culture one of our typical dresses is like poofy and flowy and you’re able to swing it around.
Overall, how do you think you family is doing after the migration? I think we’re thriving. I think we're doing good and we’ve improved a lot. We are getting exposed to so many more things now. We're in the flow of things now. Now that I’m older I can understand everything and help my mom. We’re doing good.
Can you think of times when you have felt unwelcomed as an immigrant? What about when you have felt welcomed? No I can’t really think of one because when people first see me they think of me as African American. They think I was born here. Usually when I tell them I’m Dominican they always say how nice it is.
What do you think about the wall proposed by the Trump Administration? I just don’t get it. I just don’t get why people are trying really hard to push other away. I don’t get what this wall is going to hold back. Immigrants make up America. We make up a good amount of America. The top performing people are immigrants. We’ve never shown hatred or giving them reasons for this. I just really don’t understand this.
What do you think about the family separation policy enacted by the Trump Administration? I think it’s sad that others are separating families and thinking the reason they’re doing this is out of good. No reason is good if it means that families are being separated. Period. Similarly, to the wall situation I don’t understand why they think this is a solution.
How would you feel about the US intervening in Latin American countries and offering foreign services in hopes of decreasing unauthorized immigration to the US? I think that if America were to do this they shouldn’t make an executive decisions. If a country needs something America should give it. They shouldn’t control or overpower. They should help only if it’s asked of them.
Do you have a story about someone you care about that was deported? No.
What is the thing you are proudest of so far and why? The fact that I’m an immigrant didn’t interfere with any of my accomplishments. Me getting into PDS, me winning and award, me graduating from the Trenton explorers police academy. I’m just happy being an immigrant didn’t affect any of that. People were able to see over the immigrant label. I’m blessed because of that.
What are you hoping to accomplish in the future? Currently, as a freshman, I really want to become and architect. My goal is to become a successful architect. I haven’t really heard of a Dominican woman architect before so maybe I could bring some culture into the architectural world.
What do you think may get in the way of those dreams? My financial status. Because of the fact I might not be able to pay for a college with a good architecture program. I may not be able to afford projects I want to do.
What do you think may help your dreams come true? I think I just really have to try to not have that mindset of I’m not gonna have it because I’m not rich. So maybe if I just focus on wanting something it will come.
In what ways do you think migration has made you a stronger person? I guess migration has helped me mentally become a stronger person. Now I have a strong mindset that because I’m an immigrant I need to work harder. I can’t give anyone a reason to bring me down or devalue me.
ADVICE
If someone you knew were planning on coming to this country, what would you tell them to expect? I would tell them to expect that they’re going to have to work for it. You should expect people to just hate, others will bring you down, the only way you can be successful is if you strive to be successful.
What do you wish more people knew about immigrants? We’re just people that want to be happy. In my family our goal wasn’t to come here and stir up trouble. We just wanted to come here and be happy and explore.
What are the 2 or 3 most important things that people could do to make the process of coming to a new country better? Well the first thing is to not fear the fact that people are coming. Fear is where hatred comes from. Also, it would be easier if there weren’t so many “buts” or ”ifs” like “if we let her in…” Maybe if there weren’t hesitations and more trust in the process.
Are you happy here? Yes I’m very happy right now.