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Chester Without Boarders

" I feel like a person with no country, " said Nestor Zapata after a one-on-one interview with this immigrant from Mexico who been in the United State for 30 years and now finds himself in Cedar City, Utah. For most of us getting to this country was as simple as signing a piece of paper but for others, it meant walking, jogging, sprinting, and even crawling to get here. It hasn't been easy for Nestor to get this point in his life and even found himself facing death many times.

Here we have a this DACA student who has left his home in California to escape the demons that have pushed him to the edge but still managed to never jump. Throughout the years Nestor has had roadblocks in his life when it came to the topic of his immigration status. Let me clarify, at the age of 16 when he attempted to obtain his driver's license, the DMV turned him away because only residents or citizens were allowed to carry a drivers license. Seriously? from an economic perspective wouldn't that mean just denying another person paying money in fees and registration to the state. The U.S must like being in debt.

Lets fast forward a couple years to Nestor senior year in high school when he was dominating the San Diego Wrestling rankings. Most Hispanic immigrants chose to play soccer but Nestor knew that the competition for college scholarships was more competitive and he wasn't that good at it. He picked wrestling at the age of 6 and took off with it, winning many championships along the way. As a result, his chances for a scholarship were higher because I mean who wants to wrestle when football is where the money is at.

Before his senior year scouts from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cal State Fullerton, and Fresno State came knocking. This was the moment he had been training for almost his whole life. Then things took a hard turn after his first sit down with a Cal Poly scout who eventually found out Nestor was an illegal immigrant and couldn't grant him a scholarship due to school policy.

Under those circumstances, the other coaches from the remaining school heard this news and didn't bother making the drive, so instead gave Nestor a call and gave him the bad news. So instead he settled for wrestling at Palomar Community College where he would wrestle for the last time.

This took Nestor down a dark alcoholic path that eventually landed him in jail. It was in that cell he realized that he needed to take control of his life.

Following his release, he knew he could not squander this second chance so he enrolled back in school. Eventually, he found himself with an Associates Degree in Communication Studies currently holds a 3.3 G.P.A at Southern Utah University. Thanks to DACA, Nestor found a path through this border that is the United States Immigration laws and is on course to eventually create the life he wants. One without borders.

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