A DREAMer's story: FALDEF Client, John Quidilla

Hi my name is John Quidilla. I live here in Plano, Texas with my family.

I moved to here in March 1999 with my family for my father’s work with a Visa. I finished middle school, high school, and started college here.  On July 20, 2008 my father passed away.  Along with this my family’s Green card process was stopped. My mom and siblings were able to retain their legal status, but my application for a student Visa was denied. My family and I thought it would be best for me to finish college here and go from there.

In November of 2011 I was picked up by I.C.E. early morning at my home. I was detained and taken to a detention center to be questioned. I waited in a holding cell for a couple of hours but was released on bail and allowed to go home later that day.

My mom searched for lawyers and found FALDEF. She called them to ask for help and they agreed to work on my case. After 3 court dates, President Obama’s executive order and 8 months after filing for DACA, I finally get my Employment Authorization card.

Thanks to the help and support of FALDEF, Phil-Am Chamber of Commerce of Texas, friends and family that I am still here today.

John Quidilla, Texas DREAMer deportation case closed

I was picked up by ICE on the way to classes and was held at the detention center at Dallas, Texas. I was released on bail when my brother in law and sister came to pick me up.  I have faced many obstacles in my life, but nothing quite like this. I was worried, scared, and lost in words to say when I got home and talked to my mother face to face. She was frantically looking for someone that could help me and found FALDEF as the number one search result from Google. My mother got a hold of Atty. Merit Salud at first and then talked to Atty. J.T. Mallonga. My mother and I talked to both of them to see if they were able to help us seeing that they were in New Jersey and we were in Plano, an area of Texas that they have never heard of before. We eventually got a call back from them and received good news that they were able to help us.

From that day on FALDEF has given me hope that I would be able to live my life normally day by day. They have given me a chance to fulfill my dreams and goals that would have been otherwise missed. I know that they have given it their all on helping me win my case and without them I wouldn’t be here today. They have brought the “New York way” to Texas and helped me stay with my family and friends.  They have given me the opportunity to care for my young brother and be a father figure for him, see him grow and help my family.

I thank Atty. Mallonga and Atty. Salud, all the people at FALDEF, and their supporters for all of their hard work for me and the other DREAMERS out there without them I don’t know where I’d be.

Please help us help others. Click HERE to donate. 

Facebook  Join  Read Watch Donate  Contact

REACTION FROM 2 FILIPINOS: Obama unveils new immigration doctrine

WRITTEN BY EDMUND M. SILVESTRE ,, Filipino REPORTER

The White House caught some shadowy immigrants off guard, particularly the so-called “dreamers,” when in the morning of June 15 it announced that President Barack Obama would issue an executive order allowing over 800,000 qualified undocumented young immigrants to remain in the United States and obtain work permit.

John Quidilla, an undocumented 24-year-old Filipino who previously lived in New York before his family settled in Plano, Texas, was still asleep when he received a text message from a friend who told him to watch the news.

“This can’t be happening,” Quidilla recalled telling himself while hearing for the first time the breaking news.

“Na-surprised ako...it’s so surreal,” he told the Filipino Reporter in a phone interview last Tuesday.

“My mother and siblings are all excited for me. They have been supportive of me all the way...they are my strength.”