An Imperfect Union brings together two people on opposite sides of an issue to work on a project in their community. Watch full episodes on Facebook Watch every Wednesday at 9pm ET.
Nicolle
Nicolle Uria always thought of herself as a typical American kid who just happened to have immigrant parents. She grew up in Northern Virginia where she played sports, hung out with friends and planned on attending college.
Her mother and father would share stories of their native country, Bolivia, a place that always felt so far away for Nicolle. After all, she’d never even been there. Or so she thought.
“It was a Friday night. I remember that. And they had sat me down on the bed and gave me this folder,” Nicolle said.
Nicolle was 15 when her parents handed her a folder containing an application for her Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status, or DACA. The program allows some children of undocumented immigrants to work or go to school in the United States. The Trump administration has taken steps to end the program but has so far been unsuccessful.
Nicolle says the news of being an undocumented immigrant hit her hard.
“I cried a lot. It was more like confusion and I was angry because it was a secret that they had hid so long,” she said.
Rob
“Undocumented” isn’t a term Rob Kenyon likes to use. The constitutional conservative prefers “illegal immigrant.”
“I do not approve of the cultural left modifying the language to change the debate,” Rob said.
Kenyon grew up in a home with both political spectrums, but became more conservative as he got older. Immigration reform is one of the issues he’s most passionate about.
Rob's wife, an immigrant herself, fled the Soviet Union back in the 1980's. He says he believes her family did it the correct way - waiting 15 years before being able to enter the United States and traveling through Italy and Austria while waiting for their admittance. He knows it wasn't an easy journey, but he believes it was the right way because it followed the law.
“The United States can’t solve everyone’s problems all the time by admitting every refugee from all over the world. We just can’t,” Rob said.
The Meeting
Rob and Nicolle met for the first time at “A Wider Circle” in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Their project, reorganizing clothing and furniture and packing backpacks for underprivileged children, will help "A Wider Circle" in their mission to end the cycle of poverty by providing basic needs.
As Nicolle described her happy life as a normal teenager in Northern Virginia, Rob shared his own families' dealings with the immigration system.
"So, do you think I should be deported?" Nicolle asked.
Watch the full episode on Facebook Watch to see how Nicolle and Rob's conversation unfolds.
