Jesus Perez doesn’t remember much about his journey to the United States two decades ago, beyond his parents using a simple phrase that would change the course of his life: “We’re leaving.”
Perez was 5 when he left Mexico. He’s never been back.
President Donald J. Trump’s decision Tuesday to rescind protections for immigrants brought to the country illegally as children delivered a powerful dose of dread to hundreds of thousands of “dreamers” across the country — many of whom know about their native lands only through the stories of their parents.
“We’re going to fight back. We’re going to stand up,” said Perez, now a 25-year-old research assistant at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. “Our parents taught us that no matter what happens, you always find a path.”