By Leo Juarez, Scott Martindale and David Eisenberg

Yecica Garcia, 18, is an undocumented high school senior with little hope of attending a four-year college. She does not qualify for financial aid because her family, who emigrated from Mexico when she was 2, lives in the United States illegally.

“If we don’t have papers, we can’t go to college,” said Yecica, who wants to become a lawyer. “Since we put so much into the economy, we should at least get to go to school.”

In the fall, Yecica plans to enroll at Santa Monica College – the best school she can afford.

Yecica’s first brush with activism came on March 25, when she participated in the downtown Los Angeles rally that attracted an estimated 500,000 protestors. Two days later, she walked out of Venice High School with about 370 of her classmates.

She also became a lead organizer for the Coalition of United Students, which put together the April 15 student march that brought 3,000 to 5,000 people to the steps of City Hall, a majority of them middle and high school students.

“We want to show that students know what they’re talking about,” Yecica said.

Photos

In her own words

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 Student Activists Speak Out: Part One [1:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

By Leo Juarez, Scott Martindale and David Eisenberg

Mitchell Santos wants to enlist in the military and serve his country. Not Mexico, the country he was born in, but the United States, where he lives illegally.

“This country is the land of opportunity, and I want to defend that opportunity, even for people that are not legal,” said Mitchell, who dreams of attending West Point military academy.

Mitchell, 15, a freshman at Venice High School, cannot enlist because he has no legal status in the United States. He hopes that by the time he graduates, the laws will have changed. Or that he’ll get lucky like his sister, Thalia, 18, who received a scholarship to attend Whittier College this fall.

Most undocumented students, however, cannot attend four-year universities because they do not qualify for financial aid.

Mitchell has long been educated about immigration issues. For years, he has helped his family look into possible avenues to citizenship. His two younger siblings – U.S. citizens by birth – might be the answer if the family is able to apply for citizenship through one of them, he says.

“Even though we’re being called illegal immigrants, we’re still here. There’s not going to be a mass deportation,” he said. “We want our papers for our education.”

Photos

In his own words

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 Student Activists Speak Out: Part Four [1:38m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

By Laura Cavanaugh

Protesters rallied on the steps of City Hall to speak out against anti-immigrant legislation that just passed the House in December. Laura Cavanaugh was there. She breaks down the bill’s provisions and its potential impact on immigrants and Americans (2m 35sec).

By Eric Berkowitz

Faces of rage and fear at a rally for immigrants’ rights outside the Los Angeles office of Sen. Dianne Feinstein. The demonstrators, a tiny collection of Asian and Hispanic activists, walked in circles on the little-used sidewalk, drawing no notice from anyone capable of helping them.

Reporters stood by waiting for something to happen. It didn’t.