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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