Diana Perez
Born in Mexico City and one of the first DACA recipients that had the opportunity to work for the Federal Government. My passion for immigration and social justice shaped me at firsthand by the multiple challenges I faced throughout my educational career.
I had to learn as a first generation immigrant how to navigate the higher education system to achieve my goal of graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Communication and Master’s degree in Communication and Media from Northeastern Illinois University, one of the first institutions that accepted undocumented students.
One of my first challenges I faced was when I enrolled in college when I went to select my first semester classes. I was sitting next to another student and when the advisor approached us he asked for our social security numbers. I said to the advisor that I did not have one. The advisor assisted the other student and he kept me waiting. Once the advisor assisted me and questioned again how I was going to pay my tuition and buy my book. I said that I was going to work to pay for my education. But that advisor did not believe in me or gave me any type of guidance as an undocumented student. I started cleaning houses and worked in a coffee shop to be able to afford to pay every semester until I graduated.
One year later, I came across a group of students who liked playing soccer just like me. During the winter semester we would try to play inside the University of recreational center but the staff would not allow us to play but we would notice that other students were allowed to play other sports inside but not us. Again at that moment, I questioned why not if we paid for our tuition and we had the right just like any other student to have access to the facilities.
Those moments inspired me to fight for my rights as a student and for other undocumented students that sometimes we faced discrimination due to our immigration status. I became an organizer at my university and later on I became an organizer in the community because I learned the importance of and impact organizing does in our communities. Since then, my personal mission has been to advocate for immigration policies that benefit our immigrant communities.
Currently, I am staff with the City of Chicago Committee on Immigrant & Refugee Rights Chaired by Alderperson Andre Vazquez. This role has given me the opportunity to learn how immigration is seen at the local level and how it is being addressed today. I have been able to develop, build community relations with a variety of immigration advocacy groups, stakeholders, elective officials and community members to address the inequalities of not just new arrivals but our long-time migrants across the City of Chicago. Due to the current Federal administration, I started the immigration briefing along with immigration attorneys to ensure all city agencies, Alder’s staff, non-profits from all sections and other institutions at City and State are informed about all the executive actions that impact all our immigrants across this country. In addition to addressing other related immigration issues at the local level.
In 2021 I started organizing the Citizenship & Immigration Expo to provide pro-bono immigration consultation in different languages to the community during Fiesta Del Sol in Pilsen. I believe that everyone should have access to an immigration attorney that speaks your native language. For this year's Fiesta del Sol, I ensured we have a proposal in case of any ICE activity during this festival. I wanted to make sure the community felt safe and welcome during the festival by having a non-profit organization present to provide Know Your Rights information and rapid response volunteers. Lastly, growing as an undocumented immigrant and facing multiple challenges led me to pursue this career path to advocate and work on immigration related issues at the City, State or Federal level.
