Page 8 - Finding Refuge: Real-Life Immigration Stories from Young People

but the US District Court for the Northern District of Cali-
fornia issued a nationwide preliminary injunction to stop the
increase. The citizenship test has questions about the US gov-
ernment and history. If they pass this test, and if they have not
broken any US laws, they can become citizens. New citizens
swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United
States and to follow the laws of the United States.

Stories from Students

I teach high school students who are learning English for the
first time. Many of the young people who come to my class-
room have left countries where conflict made it impossible to
live safely. They come to the United States—specifically to the
city of Spokane, Washington—to escape the dangers in their
countries and to begin new lives.
Starting over in a new place is not easy. Learning English
is not easy with its strange spellings and irregular verbs. In my
class, students practice writing in English by composing stories
and essays. Frequently, they write about their lives and experi-
ences, their struggles, and their dreams. Sometimes they write
about their countries, how they came to the United States, and
what their first days in the United States were like. We call
these their “coming to America” stories.
The essays in this book are only some of the stories students
have shared with me over the years. With the help of families,
friends, and social media, I’ve been able to locate many of my
former students to interview them about what they are doing
now and to let them update their stories.
Some students had lost their original stories but were will-
ing to sit down and retell their story for this book. Most impor-
tantly, my students told me about their lives since high school

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