JACKSONVILLE, Fla. —
Maria Fernanda’s busy Jacksonville home took a pause Wednesday to watch the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
“Wow, I feel hopeful. I’m hopeful just because I feel like there’s so much healing to be done,” she said.
It was a very different feeling than she had four years ago.
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“We were so scared for those four years and now you can breathe. I feel like I can breathe now,” she said.
Maria Fernanda was brought to the U.S. when she was 10.
She’s now a mom, a wife, and an entrepreneur but her legal status is only temporary under DACA.
“For us having DACA means that we get to have a driver’s license, we get a social security number, we get the opportunity to work,” said Maria Fernanda.
As they watched the inauguration they were filled with optimism because their futures depend on what this administration will do. They’re hope is for a future in the only place they’ve called home.
“My biggest fear would be to not be free in the country of freedom because that’s how I feel,” said Maria Fernanda.
President Biden plans to send a sweeping immigration bill to congress that would provide a path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants. Maria Fernanda’s mom Patricia is one of them.
Patricia said she has faith in Vice President Harris especially.
“Es hija de inmigrantes, entonces eso le da a uno esperanza,” she said in Spanish which means “she’s the daughter of immigrants and that gives us hope.”
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The moment she becomes a citizen, Maria Fernanda knows exactly what she’ll do first.
“The day I’m able to go and apply for it I’m going to vote because I’m going to be my mom’s voice, my dad’s voice,” she said.
Until that happens, she and her family will continue waiting for their chance to make their American dream a reality.