Young Immigrants Have to Grow Up Fast

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For many of them, adolescence isn't an option. They've likely grown up fast -- very fast. At 12, 13, 14, many of the young people interviewed for this story had their first job. They worked to support their parents (not vice versa) and to help brothers and sisters along the way. For them, youth's milestones -- education, friendship, fun and youthful indiscretion -- were overshadowed by two major responsibilities: to help support family and to keep from getting deported.

Few go on to graduate high school let alone qualify to attend college. The few that do are the exceptions that made it despite the odds. They are success stories without the happy endings. The DREAM Act would have given youth who came to the U.S. at a young age and made it despite the odds the opportunity to earn legal residency by either attending college or joining the military. Sadly, it has yet to be enacted.