Greisa Martínez Rosas is a Mexican immigrant rights activist based in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

. She is executive director of the advocacy organization, United We Dream.

Early life and education

Martínez Rosas was born in

Hidalgo Hidalgo may refer to: People * Hidalgo (nobility), members of the Spanish nobility * Hidalgo (surname) Places Mexico * Hidalgo (state), in central Mexico * Hidalgo, Coahuila, a town in the north Mexican state of Coahuila * Hidalgo, Nuevo Le� ...

, Mexico to Elia Rosas and Luis Martínez. She has 3 younger sisters. At the age of 8, her family immigrated to the United States and she was subsequently raised in

, Texas. Her father was deported after being found driving without a license. While in high school, Martínez Rosas led

student activism Student activism or campus activism is work by students to cause political, environmental, economic, or social change. Although often focused on schools, curriculum, and educational funding, student groups have influenced greater political e ...

efforts such as

walkout In labor disputes, a walkout is a labor strike, the act of employees collectively leaving the workplace and withholding labor as an act of protest. A walkout can also mean the act of leaving a place of work, school, a meeting, a company, or an ...

s to demand justice for

undocumented immigrants in the United States Illegal immigration to the United States is the process of migrating into the United States in violation of federal immigration laws. This can include foreign nationals (aliens) who have entered the United States unlawfully, as well as thos ...

. She attended

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

and, as a

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

, founded the first undocumented student group on campus.

Activism

Martínez Rosas is an immigrant rights and

community activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

. She led grassroots efforts and worked for the National Leadership Committee for the Council for Minority Student Affairs as a civic engagement field manager. In 2012, she joined United We Dream (UWD), an immigrant advocacy organization. She later became the deputy executive director of UWD before becoming executive director in August 2020. Martínez Rosas advocates for

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, colloquially referred to as DACA, is a United States immigration policy that allows some individuals with unlawful presence in the United States after being brought to the country as children to receive ...

(DACA) and opposes the

immigration policy of Donald Trump Immigration policy, including illegal immigration to the United States, was a signature issue of former U.S. president Donald Trump's presidential campaign, and his proposed reforms and remarks about this issue generated much publicity. Trump h ...

Personal life

Martínez Rosas is

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

. She is a

DACA Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, colloquially referred to as DACA, is a United States immigration policy that allows some individuals with unlawful presence in the United States after being brought to the country as children to receive a ...

recipient and possesses a work permit. In 2018, her mother died of

non-Hodgkin lymphoma Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), also known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is a group of blood cancers that includes all types of lymphomas except Hodgkin lymphomas. Symptoms include enlarged lymph nodes, fever, night sweats, weight loss, and tiredness. ...

Awards and honors

In 2020, Martínez Rosas and activist Cristina Jiménez Moreta received Dignity, Community and Power Awards from the

Make the Road New York Make the Road New York (MRNY) is the largest progressive grassroots immigrant-led organization in New York state. The organization works on issues of workers' rights; immigrant and civil rights; environmental and housing justice; justice for trans ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Martínez Rosas, Greisa Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Immigrant rights activists People from Hidalgo (state) Mexican emigrants to the United States DACA recipients Mexican women activists Activists from Dallas Texas A&M University alumni Mexican queer people LGBT people from Texas Queer women