Pages Matam stands tall on a street corner in Northwest, D.C. The words, poetry, spilling from his mouth.
He's a D.C. poet, author anti-abuse advocate and travels around the county as a motivational speaker. But on Tuesday, he felt ever so clearly his other label, a dreamer.
He's one of the hundreds of thousands who were protected under DACA, an Obama Administration program that allows undocumented children to avoid deportation and get a work permit.
Matam and his niece Lauryn, a Montgomery County College student, left Cameroon, Central Africa to pursue a better education. America has been home since both were young children.
"I pay federal taxes, and I don't get state tuition, I contribute to society, I worked on a Senate campaign. I do everything I'm supposed to but some people still want to dehumanize me," said Matam's niece Lauryn Fanguen, who goes to Montgomery College.
The Trump Administration announced that it will be ending DACA, which has protected Matam, his niece and 800,000 others for years.
Protests erupted even as the administration says it will continue to renew permits for any undocumented immigrants whose status expires in the next six months. This means, Congress has until March 2018 to save those in danger of losing their status.
"It shouldn't start with me and end with me. How can we continue this process to make sure it stays fair and stays just," said Matam.
Sometimes even for a poet, words can't describe the gravity of Tuesday, as Matam walks away.
