McMurry Stands With Immigrants

October 22^nd marks a national movement amongst college universities in solidarity to stand with immigrants. “I Stand With Immigrants” is an initiative powered by FWD.us (Moving America Forward) that promotes the United States’ rich immigrant population and what immigrants have contributed to our country. “I am an Immigrant,” specifically celebrates immigrants’ personal contributions to our country, both past and present.

The three campaigns promote the advancement of positive immigration rhetoric through personal stories of immigrants and their accomplishments. McMurry University is no stranger to such stories, and assistant chaplain Julia Puac-Romero is making it her mission to bring the “I am an Immigrant” initiative to McMurry University.

“While I was attending grad school, the Latin female sorority would always host some kind of sit-in or stand-in, protesting immigrant rights,” said Puac-Romero. “It was very crucial for me to participate in this. When the current administration threatened DACA for the first time, we emailed our professor, who was a second-generation Korean American, that we weren’t going to class because we were taking a day of action.”

Puac-Romero, a native of Guatemala City, immigrated to the U.S. with her parents when she was three years old in 1995. Puac-Romero went on to live the dream that her parents set out for her moving to the U.S. by graduating from Centenary College in Louisiana; but, Puac-Romero didn’t stop there. She received her Master of Divinity in 2017, and she has made it her mission to serve others.

“Whenever you’re serving the body of Christ, you’re serving the whole body of Christ, not just one part of it,” asserted Puac-Romero. This also serves as her motto in life for serving others.

Due to McMurry’s HSI (Hispanic Serving Institution) status, Puac-Romero wants to bring an awareness to our campus by connecting all our students for a similar cause. Specifically, Puac-Romero wants to engage second-generation or third-generation Hispanic students with their original family’s roots.

Puac-Romero wants to use October 22^nd to inform students of, not only the benefits immigrants bring to our country, but also the plight of the immigrants, and stigmas attached to certain immigrants.

“We’ll be using the pillars in the perch to present certain stigmas attached to immigrants,” said Puac-Romero regarding the day national college day of action. “I want to bring awareness of the uniqueness of what it is to be an immigrant and reach out to professors that claim immigrant heritage. I specifically want to incite the pride immigrants have in their roles as immigrants.”

This year, McMurry will proudly join campuses across the U.S. showcasing their support for immigrants, and specifically DACA students who face an uncertain future. The fate of DACA students relies on The Supreme Court, whose decision can affect more than hundreds of thousands DACA recipients. Together, however, the fate of these hundreds of thousands of lives can be saved with both a strong initiative and a voice that can be heard across the country. Together, as a campus, we can save the future of many of those pursuing a dream, similar to Julia Puac-Romero’s dream that came true.

“My parents made the choice to give me a better future when they came to this country. DACA students are people just like me, that, just as myself, they didn’t ask to come. DACA students work the hardest and fight the hardest for their future in this country.”

Whether you are a second-generation immigrant, third-generation immigrant, or wanting to learn more, be sure to check out and inform yourself on this important national day of action that McMurry will participate in. After all, aren’t we all immigrants?

“While I was attending grad school, the Latin female sorority would always host some kind of sit-in or stand-in, protesting immigrant rights,” said Puac-Romero. “It was very crucial for me to do this. When the current administration threatened DACA for the first time, we emailed our professor, who was a second-generation Korean American that we weren’t going to class because we were taking a day of action.”

“Whenever you’re serving the body of Christ, you’re serving the whole body of Christ, not just one part of it,” asserted Puac-Romero as her motto in life while serving others.

Puac-Romero wants to use October 22^nd to inform students of, not only the benefits immigrants bring to our country, but also the plight of the immigrants, and stigmas attached to certain immigrants.

“We’ll be using the pillars in the Perch to present certain stigmas attached to immigrants,” said Puac-Romero regarding the day national college day of action. “I want to bring the awareness of the uniqueness of what it is to be an immigrant and reach out to professors that claim immigrant heritage. I specifically want to incite the pride immigrants have in their roles as immigrants.”