Faces of Dreamers: Kebin Lopez, University of Florida Levin College of Law

This is one in a series of posts on individual Dreamers, undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as young children, many of whom are under threat of deportation following the Trump administration’s decision in September 2017 to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, or DACA.

Kebin Lopez should have had a difficult decision before him: choosing between the multiple law schools that accepted his application. Instead, the decision was made for him when two institutions in Georgia rescinded their acceptance due to his DACA immigration status.

The disappointment and uncertainty he felt upon receiving those rejection letters illustrate the unique obstacles Dreamers face in the United States.

“I don’t even have words for it. It just hurts,” said Lopez.

Lopez was brought to this country from Honduras by his parents when he was six years old and grew up in Bluffton, South Carolina, according to a profile by WTGS Fox28. For his undergraduate studies, he attended Armstrong State University in Savannah, now called Georgia Southern University-Armstrong Campus, and is the first person in his family to earn a college degree, let alone go to law school. He believes DACA recipients deserve the same education as anyone else and is inspired to become a lawyer to stand up for others like him.

Fortunately, Lopez was also accepted by University of Florida Levin College of Law, which he plans to attend. He hopes to practice law in Florida after graduating.

“I feel like people should be fighting for us because we are South Carolinians, we are Georgians, we are people who have pretty much been here our whole lives,” said Lopez.

—Carly O’Connell