Three years ago he came to the US after escaping the violence of Guatemala

Lucas Ruiz lived moments of great emotion when he graduated from high school, three years after arriving in the United States as an unaccompanied minor after fleeing the violence of his native Guatemala and looking for a better future.

Due to the social distance restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, the graduation ceremony was motorized. The boys received their certificates of completion of studies through the window of their cars.

“I feel very satisfied and very happy,” says Lucas.

At 19, she graduated from Catholic High School Cathedral High School, a school that is within the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles where he was awarded a scholarship.

Gone is the memory, the dangerous journey that he undertook for almost a month to reach Tijuana; and trying to cross the southern border with the desire to meet in Los Angeles with her father whom she had not seen for 13 years.

“I had the illusion of meeting him, but at the same time very afraid that something would happen to me. On the way there are very bad people. I was afraid they would kidnap me or even lose my life, ”he says.

Lucas Ruiz by his father’s side when he first arrived in the US (Courtesy Lucas Ruiz Primero)

Lucas escaped from his land because of the violence, and because he says that “my family did not want me to get involved in bad things.”

When he arrived in Tijuana, he turned himself in to the immigration authorities and was taken to a detention center in Texas, where he spent several weeks in cells known as “ice boxes” due to their low temperatures. From there they transferred him to a youth hostel.

“When they released me, they handed me over to my dad at the Los Angeles Airport. I was very happy to see it, “he says.

At first, she admits that it was very difficult for her to adapt and interact with other people, especially because she didn’t speak English.

He entered a public school in the city of Rosemead in Los Angeles County.

He was an acquaintance of his father, who put him in contact with pro-bono attorney Linda Dakin-Grimm, who is part of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino Migration Task Force, and has helped other immigrants in your situation to get scholarships and permanent residence.

Lucas Ruiz (middle) with his peers from Cathedral High School. (Courtesy Lucas Ruiz Primero)

Attorney Dakin-Grimm secured Lucas a scholarship to study at Cathedral Catholic High School.

“The difference between public and Catholic schools is that by making the change I was able to learn English. In public school, we always spent speaking Spanish. ”

The boy does not hide his joy at graduating, although he admits that he misses Guatemala and his friends. “But everything is for a better future.”

His dream is to join the United States Army once the pandemic allows it.

“I like actions and being outdoors,” he admits.

He is also awaiting his green card to join the armed forces.

Linda Dakin-Grimm, the attorney who helps unaccompanied minors without charge. (Courtesy of Linda Dakin-Grimm).

Special Status for Young Immigrants

Attorney Dakin-Grimm took over Lucas’s case a month after the boy was reunited with his father.

We started the process to apply for the Special Status for Young Immigrants (SIJS) through which you can obtain residency.a ”, he explains.

But to do so, he first had to petition the California state court to determine if Lucas qualified to apply for that status.

Through this process, a juvenile court must place you in the custody of a state agency or with an individual.

“The process took about six months. Once it was approved, the request for Special Status for Young Immigrants was made to the Immigration and Citizenship Service (USCIS) in 2017, ”she explains.

This legal status was created by Congress to protect youth who have been abused, abandoned, neglected by any of their parents or guardians. To apply for this relief, they must be under 21 years of age and not married.

Lucas was approved for such status in 2018, but since the number of visas for that program are limited, he was put on a waiting list and has not yet obtained his permanent residence.

“The waiting list is by country. In the case of Guatemala, minors who qualify for Special Status for Young Immigrants have to wait about three years”Says attorney Dakin-Grimm.

However, the good news is that your turn is coming. In a couple of months you will be able to apply for permanent residence, and get a work permit.

“It is a nice coincidence because it happens almost at the same time that he graduates from high school. Once with the residency, you can enlist in the army as your wishes are, ”he says.

Lucas Ruiz in Guatemala when he was four years old. (Courtesy Lucas Ruiz Primero)

How long will it take for me to receive the green card once I apply.

“In ordinary times it may be a couple of months, but now we cannot say how long it will take because the Justice Department has said that they are running out of money.”

Without charging a single dollar, Linda has helped reunite several immigrant families through the Kids in Need of Defense organization whose mission is to ensure that no minor is Find yourself or alone before an immigration court without legal representation. At least 75 legal assistance has been given to unaccompanied minors in the United States.

Linda is about to publish her book “Dignity and Justice: Welcoming the Stranger at Our Border” (in Spanish Dignity and Justice: Welcoming Foreigners on Our Border) where she exposes the legal challenges of unaccompanied children.

KIND has assisted more than 1,100 people affected by family separation in the country and others where their parents have been affected.

Since 2014, more than 260,000 unaccompanied minors and refugees have entered the United States.. They have come from three of the main most dangerous countries in the world: Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.

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