CHICAGO — For as long as she can remember, Martha Armenta felt invisible in the only country she knew as home. She grew up in Little Village, where her parents settled after moving to Chicago from Sinaloa, Mexico, escaping poverty and violence, she said.
When she learned in high school she was in the U.S. without legal permission, she acknowledged that the dreams her parents sacrificed for were going to be harder to achieve. Still, she persisted. She managed to go to college working three jobs to pay for it, and in 2012, with the help of community service workers, she obtained DACA — the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
And in April, Armenta also finally became a permanent resident with the help of a U.S. Department of Justice accredited representative, who, like an attorney, can represent immigrants in applying for benefits and in some administrative proceedings.
