Queens Ledger

From Dreamer to candidate: Cruz tells her story

July 12, 2018 | by Benjamin Fang

There wasn’t a singular moment when Queens Assembly candidate Catalina Cruz suddenly realized that she was undocumented.

She always knew that she and her single mother, who hopped on a plane from Colombia when Cruz was just 9 years old, had overstayed their visas.

“There was always this thing at home about being very careful not to get in trouble with the police, don’t get in trouble in school, don’t draw attention to yourself,” she said. “Those are very clear things.”

It wasn’t until Cruz was applying to colleges in New York when she understood the limitations of not having papers. Though she got into state schools like SUNY Albany, her family had no way of paying for it.

Read more:LIC/Astoria Journal – From Dreamer to candidate Cruz tells her story