Meet Ricardo and Jonni, two Tennessee DREAMers whose lives will be tranformed by deferred action
These teens appear to be like any other, but they lack social security numbers.
Aug. 15, 2012— -- For Ricardo Mata, 17, and Jonni Antrax, 17, deferred action promises an immediate relief from the constant fear of being deported and a chance to make dreams a reality.
Ricardo was so eager to learn more about deferred action that he arrived two hours early at an event in Memphis on Tuesday offering information about the program. The event was co-organized by the traveling DREAMER caravan called Undocubus.
The two friends are part of Baliandosz, a local tribal guarachero dance group in Memphis. They can't get a driver's license without papers. This makes attending competitions and performances a challenge, they say.
Ricardo, who was wearing a Superman T-shirt, compared being undocumented to kryptonite.
"We could be anything but we're held back," he said, "the only thing holding us back are those digits."
Those nine digits are the social security number that dreamers like Mata don't have. Deferred action won't give him a social security but it will allow him to get a job, go to college and live a more normal teenage life.