Alberto Urena
Alberto Urena
The Financial and Emotional Cost of the Pathway to US Citizenship: A Humanitarian Crisis
I have witnessed many US presidents promise to open the pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented people, only to be disappointed; and nothing really changes. The only policy that offered promise was the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. It is an immigration policy that offers citizenship to children who entered the country illegally. If one is lucky enough to qualify one is granted protection from deportation for two years. Imagine: the tick-tick-ticking of the clock that haunts one’s days. The application process fee is costly and it has to be updated regularly. The psychological and emotional toll on immigrants who live this bureaucratic nightmare is enormous. Even though I am an American citizen, US immigration policies have a strong effect on me, as I stand by close friends and family members in limbo. As a designer, I have developed a series of posters with the aim to underscore the trauma and cost of current immigration policies in this country and to give those who have experienced this juggernaut firsthand a voice.
Alberto Urena
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