The Deferred Action Podcast

Oscar Romero: Engineering Change

Oscar Romero is a software engineer and social impact activist. He created myundoculife.com to help undocumented individuals share their resources. In his spare time, Oscar helps immigrants rights non-profits digitally transform. Blog Site: myundoculife.com [myundoculife.com] Instagram: oscarmrom Podcast Timestamps: 00:45 - Breakfast of choice 01:33 - Oscar Romero in his own words 03:53 - First link to the U.S.A 06:30 - Reflection on upbringing today 09:49 - Oscar’s transition from Mexico to U.S. 12:35 - Buying a vending machine 15:01 - Family ties and settlement in North Carolina 18:25 - Elementary school experiences as Undocumented person. 21:50 - Come back to undocumented reality moments 25:10 - Dealing with racism and anti-immigrant sentiments 30:24 - “DACA moment” 33:50 - First steps after learning about DACA option 36:40 - Two types of envy of people with citizenship 39:12 - Oscar’s definition of the American Dream 43:30 - Experiences as a DACAmented college resident advisor 46:18 - Getting started as Software Engineer 51:52 - Challenges of transitioning into corporate America 56:30 - Becoming the first college graduate in his family 1:00 - On helping social impact non-profits digitally transform 1:05:50 - Oscar Romero at 2030

Alejandro Flores-Munoz: Undocu Hustle

Alejandro Flores-Munoz is a seasoned entrepreneur and activist who has made it his mission to advocate for marginalized communities. As an outspoken queer, DACA, Latinx person Munoz’s life’s work aims to champion for the next generation of intersectional entrepreneurs. Book KickStarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/undocuhustlebook/no-papers-no-fear-we-can-do-business-here [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/undocuhustlebook/no-papers-no-fear-we-can-do-business-here] Episode Time Stamps: 00:15 - Breakfast of Choice 01:10 - Alejandro Flores in his own words 02:12 - Memories of Guadalajara, Mexico, (Birthplace) 04:30 - Immigrating to Santa Anna, California (Hometown) 06:16 - Transition from Mexico to the U.S 09:00 - Alejandro on his Mom’s role in his life 14:01 - The Start for Alejandro’s Political Career 16:58 - Parallels Between Coming Out of Two Closets 22:21 - Perspective on Sharing Your Status Publicly 23:24 - DACA is Not The Solution: Synthesis of His New Book 30:00 - What Alejandro Did Once He Received DACA 32:00 - Ingredients in a Good Grassroots Political Campaign 33:00 - Alejandro’s Favorite Political Leader 35:19 - Starting up a Sunglasses Company 36:57 - Transferable Systems & Starting his Second Company 42:50 - Investing $5,000 to Start a Poke Shop 50:20 - Process of Writing His Book: No Papers No Fear: You Can Do Business Here 52:40 - Main Message Readers Can Take Away From the New Book 55:00 - Using KickStarter to Launch a Project 57:09 - Vision of the Alejandro’s Future

Hector Galvan: Houstonian Entrepreneur at Heart

In this episode, Danna and Hugo touch base with Hector Galvan, a fellow Houston DACA recipient. Hector immigrated to the U.S. at age of 3 months. Hector is a graduate of the Wolf Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Houston. He is currently a young professional in the Treasury Industry. Insta: @thehectorgalvan

Nelly Gonzalez: Dreaming of One Day

Nelly Gonzalez is a DACAmented student and philanthropist. We discuss her upbringing, unique experiences, and motivation to launch One Day. https://www.facebook.com/onedayrva/ [https://www.facebook.com/onedayrva/] https://www.instagram.com/onedayrva/ [https://www.instagram.com/onedayrva/]   Intro Music: Insta: @j.slai

Luis Cortes Romero: The DACA recipient who defended DACA at the Supreme Court.

Luis is the managing partner at the Immigrant Advocacy & Litigation Center in Kent, Washington. He was the lead attorney in Garcia et al. v. Trump, one of the consolidated cases at the U.S. Supreme Court that successfully defended the DACA program from repeal. Luis was born in Michoacan, Mexico and immigrated to the San Fransisco Bay Area at the age of 1. In this episode, we talk to Luis about his upbringing, the challenges of being undocumented with DACA, his experience defending DACA at the Supreme Court, and his perspective on creating real change on American immigration policy. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/immigration/activism-leads-the-law-follows/ [https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/immigration/activism-leads-the-law-follows/]