She's giving young immigrants a voice

silive.com
By Maura Grunlund
Published: Saturday, October 29, 2011, 5:35 AM

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A real job and a driver’s license are mere dreams for Port Richmond resident Sara Martinez, 22, and other teens and young adults who were brought to Staten Island from Latin American countries as children.


Staten island Advance/Irving Silversteinâ We don't use the word illegal, because no human being is illegal, says Sara Martinez of Port Richmond, just one of the many undocumented young people on Staten Island.

She is among the many undocumented young people in the borough who are hoping that the government will pass the Development, Relief and Education for Minors (DREAM) Act, which would allow them to obtain driver’s licenses, health insurance, work authorization papers and financial aid for college.

While a state DREAM Act wouldn’t be a path to citizenship, it would overcome many of the obstacles of an undocumented person unable to obtain a Social Security number.

Ms. Martinez is more fortunate than most undocumented young adults, since she is on track to earn a bachelor’s degree in biology from the College of Staten Island. She and her parents worked and sacrificed to raise the tuition, since undocumented students aren’t eligible for scholarships and other forms of financial aid.

Ms. Martinez was brought to this country from Mexico when she was about 1½ years old by her mother. Her father already was living on Staten Island. Her two brothers and one sister were born in this country and thus are citizens. The family has moved around a bit but mostly has lived in Port Richmond.

Ms. Martinez attended PS 19 in West Brighton, PS 20 in Port Richmond and Markham Intermediate School in Graniteville prior to graduating from Port Richmond High School in 2006.

Her status started to hit home in high school, when the lack of a Social Security number prevented Ms. Martinez from obtaining a license when most of her friends were driving. She was unable to get work papers for the same reason.

Applying for college was difficult and her dreams of attending an out-of-state school were squashed, again by her lack of a Social Security number. Because she was ineligible for financial aid, Ms. Martinez worked for two years prior to enrolling at CSI. Fortunately, she is eligible for in-state tuition at CSI because she met the residency requirements.

After she obtains her degree, Ms. Martinez won’t be able to apply for a job in her chosen field, due to the lack of a Social Security number. Leaving the country and applying for residency or citizenship isn’t a realistic plan, since the waiting list is very long, at least 10 years, with no guarantee of success.

Besides, as with most teen and young adult undocumented Staten Islanders, this borough is where they have roots and many don’t have any memories of their native countries, because they left at such young ages.

“I’m basically stuck, because when I came into the U.S., I didn’t enter through a point of entry, such as an airport,â€