“DACA is the floor for us. We want to reach the ceiling.”

By Scott Gilman Staff Writer for Unsugarcoated Media

In Episode 43 of Unsugarcoated with Aalia, host Aalia Lanius welcomed Sharet Garcia to discuss the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Garcia is the founder of UndocuProfessionals, a mentorship and opportunity network for members of the undocumented community. Sharet Garcia is one of approximately 643,000 immigrants currently benefiting from the DACA program- a program of much controversy. In Episode 43, she discusses her all too common experience and how she rose above challenges as an immigrant.

“We came to the United States because my mother wanted to give me something that she never had, which was an education and a better life,” begins Sharet Garcia. 

This comment came during a discussion of education- how important it was to both Aalia and Garcia’s families. Aalia emphasizes the universality of the classic immigrant’s dream: “There were a lot of people that I knew that were for the first time ever in their family going to college, even if they were born on American soil… it just causes me to think about why people wouldn’t relate to that.” 

Garcia’s mother brought her across the border when she was nine years old. She had only finished the third grade. She could barely speak Spanish as a second language. As a single mother who had to educate herself, Garcia’s mother fought hard to give her daughter the opportunities that she lacked.

It’s heart-warming to hear Garcia speak about her mother. She would follow her anywhere. When the senior Garcia told her they were moving, young Garcia had no idea they would be to a different country. Garcia pokes fun at her own memory- she’s the kind of person who always has to be writing things down -but she remembers every detail of the trip. She says of remembering the experience “it’s almost like you’re reliving your nightmare.”

Garcia then recalls the hardships of an immigrant “fresh off the boat”. There was no institutional aid for Garcia. Even when the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program came out, she worked and studied for two years without benefiting from it. She recalls constant misinformation and distrust at the time. Whether intentionally or not, people were feeding her fallacious info.  

Garcia recalls two contrasting experiences with an immigration lawyer and a law student. When Garcia consulted the former, he told her that she wasn’t eligible for the program, preventing her from applying. It wasn’t until later, when she divulged to a law student and a friend that she was undocumented that someone looked over her status and let her know that she could benefit from DACA. 

Even if Garcia had known from the start that she was eligible, putting faith in the US government to look after the undocumented community was a dangerous proposition. Says Garcia “Trusting that this DACA program was actually there to help us- it took a while for a lot of us in the community.” 

Despite discouragement from pursuing higher education, Garcia obtained a Bachelor’s, Master’s, and EdD. She discusses why this was so important to her. The senior Garcia’s value of education hangs heavy over the episode. In 2019, Sharet Garcia used her education to found UndocuProfessionals, which supports those that qualify for DACA and those that don’t.  

UndocuProfessionals provides mentorship opportunities for undocumented students and workers. Garcia recalls that she and other members of her community were left bereft of crucial guidance. She wants to fix that by pairing members of the undocumented community with experienced people that know what their lives are like. UndocuProfessionals bridges the crucial gap between being an undocumented student and becoming an undocumented professional. It provides its members with a support system that they can trust- that doesn’t feed them misinformation. Garcia describes her life’s work with palpable passion.

With DACA is danger of elimination, Garcia urges others for their support of the program. The program alone is not nearly enough, but it’s still in peril. “DACA is the floor for us. We want to reach the ceiling.”

At the beginning of her interview, Sharet Garcia disclaimed that it gets difficult, having to tell and retell your story. However, she feels a sense of responsibility to her community. People need to understand the experience of an actual undocumented immigrant. Her knowledge of that process is crucial to UndocuProfessionals. 

As Garcia points out, we have to hear about these issues from the people that experience them firsthand. Sharet Garcia’s conversation is frank and enlightening. As Aalia provides momentum and valuable statistics to the conversation, Garcia discusses systemic- often undiscussed -issues that immigrants face.

 In founding UndocuProfessionals and assisting members of her community, Sharet Garcia has followed in her mother’s footsteps. Her mother wanted an education and a better life for her, and now she uses her education to provide a better life for others. To listen to Sharet Garcia speak with more intelligence and firsthand experience than an article could ever muster, watch her conversation with Aalia. Episode 43 contains hard statistics on the immigrant experience and encapsulates the journey of the determined Sharet Garcia.

Tune in below to the full episode to hear more about Sharet Garcia and the candid discussion that stays Unsugarcoated!

To learn more about Sharet Garcia’s UndocuProfessionals, check out its website: UndocuProfessionalsnetwork.com and its instagram: @UndocuProfessionals

For more information on Unsugarcoated Media or your award-winning host, go to www.UnsugarcoatedMedia.com and stay connected with Aalia on IG: @aalia_unsugarcoated Clubhouse and Linkedin