Outside looking In

Remember Juan Gomez? Last year it looked like he had it made. A private bill made it possible for him and his brother Alex to legally stay in the US. He received acceptance and a full scholarship renowned Ivy League school. Yet less than one year later, everything is up in the air again. By any measure, he would be considered an asset. He’s proven his worth by doing brilliantly in Georgetown (Georgetown! for God’s sake!) Yet he languishes unable to even plan his summer. It is a crying shame that Juan now has to face such an uncertain future after overcoming so many obstacles and losing his parents for the foreseeable future. We need to circulate his story as well as that of the many people in the same situation. Because to let all that talent, all that drive and passion slip through our collective grasp and be wasted is the biggest shame of all.

THE OUTSIDER

Each week, the possibility of getting deported looms larger. Juan can no longer block it from his mind so easily. "If I have this deadline that's going to come up in some form or another, it's not like I can look that far ahead into the future," he says.