At viewing party, chants of 'We did it'

Listening to the president's words Thursday night, Belinda Holguin of South Philadelphia began to cry, knowing firsthand the life-changing impact his historic action could have on millions of families.

Her parents were undocumented workers from Mexico when they were granted legal status under the amnesty act of 1986 - a change, she said, that allowed them to find better jobs, send their three children to better schools, and buy a home.

"It really pushed us into the middle class," said Holguin, one of about three dozen people who crammed into Taquitos de Puebla in South Philadelphia for a viewing party during the speech.

"And now," she said, "it's happening for the next generation."

After hearing President Obama outline a set of immigration changes that could end the fear of deportation for as many as five million immigrants, the crowd applauded and chanted, "Si se puede" - "We did it."

Gisele Hernandez, 19, took a break from her waitress shift across the street to sit and watch the speech. Her parents, she said, qualified under the president's plan and would no longer work in fear of deportation.

"We won't have to hide anymore," she said. "We will be able to speak, we will have a voice. I won't feel like an alien, like they call us."

She said it was an emotional moment "to see someone actually standing up for us."

"At this point, he made it like we're something important, not something small," she said. "We are important, this community."

Juan Carlos Romero, the owner of the restaurant, said he hoped the president's action would be the first step in fixing a broken "and confusing" system.

Under the current system, he said, he has been able to own a business, but not drive a car. With the new policy, he said, he would not have to live in fear of deportation and would have access to health care.

"I hope he gives us the tools," he said, "like regular people. Like regular Americans."

Carlos Rosas, a pastry sous chef at a Center City restaurant, brought his two youngest children, Jennifer, 12, and Michael, 10, to watch.

Under the president's plan, Rosas, who is from Mexico City and has lived in Philadelphia since 1998, will now be allowed to register for work permits, a taxpayer ID number, and a driver's license.

"I am very, very happy," he said. "I will be able to come out of the shadows and live and walk without fear."

Jennifer Rosas said the president's words about coming out of the shadows made her happy as well.

Rosas said he would now be able to work for higher positions in his company, to drive, to hopefully pay off his home, and, perhaps, to someday visit his mother's grave in Mexico.

Most important, he said, his children "will be sure that their parents are coming home at night."

But, like many at the event, he said his happiness was mixed with sadness for the millions of immigrants not covered under Obama's changes. "This is a beginning, not an end," he said.

"This is historic, and we are proud," said Brenda Hernandez, 22, "but we will still try to fight for the rest of the people."

Erika Almiron, the executive director of Juntos, a Pennsylvania support group for Latinos, said it was indeed "a bittersweet moment" for many in the community.

"There is the realization that half the community will qualify and half won't," she said. "The next stage starts now."

The next step, she said, begins with a protest Friday at Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices, calling for the release of immigrants who are set to be deported but qualify to stay under Obama's plan.