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Abiba Biao Photos.
Carolina Bortolleto had never cut a cake before, so it was only fitting for Connecticut Students for a Dream (C4D) to do her the honors. She recalled sitting with her sister Camila, and friends Lorella Praeli and Hafid Dumet around a coffee table in New Milford in 2010, sharing anecdotes and experiences of growing up undocumented.
That conversation led to the four of them to found C4D, which for 15 years has provided support for immigrants and undocumented individuals across the state from expanding educational access to healthcare access. Cutting the cake to celebrate 15 years of hard work, she wished aloud for at least 15 more. Then, she got ready to join the dance floor.
Last Wednesday, C4D members gathered at the carousel in Lighthouse Point Park to celebrate the organization’s 15th birthday, dubbed a quinceañera in honor of the coming-of-age tradition common in the Latin American countries from which many members hail.
The lineup, which centered the voices of those who have watched the organization grow and transform from the inside, also included words from elected officials such as State Reps. Anne Hughes and Jillian Gilchrest, and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong.
An alumni of the C4D Greater Hartford Chapter and UConn Willimantic Chapter, Stephanie Marquez took to the stage to discuss her experiences in the group. Before assuming her current position as a board member, Marquez was simply a regular member.
“I did not know what at the time, but before joining C4D, I had been missing a real sense of community. It felt like nobody understood whatI was going through with regards to my status, and my story, nor would they ever care to find out,” she said. “But I was wrong.
Not only were there people who cared, and understood; there were people who wanted to work with me and change things for people like me.”
After Marquez’s speech was C., who couldn’t start his speech without thanking the crowd. He recalled his first time with civil work, testifying with HUSKY 4 Immigrants for the HB 6616: “An Act Concerning Expansion Of Husky Health Benefits To Those Ineligible Due To Immigration Status.”
The bill was created to expand Medicaid access to immigrants and undocumented individuals. In April 2022, undocumented pregnant people gained access to prenatal care under HUSKY, a win for the campaign. Then undocumented youth up to 12 years old got access in January 2023, after the first passage of the bill in 2021. Then in July of last year, youth eligibility expanded to include children 15 years old and younger, according to the Connecticut Health Foundation.
Obed Sierra (center) presenting awards from Sen. Richard Blumenthal to Camila and Carolina Bortolleto.
“I remember the feeling of fear and that I was so nervous that it almost kept me from speaking, but I did it. And I did it knowing that I had an entire community behind me, giving me strength,” he said.
“And that's what unites all of us here tonight, right? The fact that despite the fear, the nerves or the doubts, we stand strong and keep fighting, because that is what we have changed. That is the true impact of C4D that changes lives.”
He tasked the people in the room to take in the moment and rely on others for support before ending with a call and response.
“When he fight,” he called out to the crowd.
“We win,” the crowd roared back.
Carolina Bortolleto brought that message home anew as she took the mic, eye-catching in a red dress that blazed beneath the lights.
“I start off by saying that I’m undocumented, unafraid and unapologetic,” she said in an address to the crowd. “Those were the words that were never publicly uttered in Connecticut before Connecticut Students for a Dream came about.”
“In 2010, claiming your undocumented identity was risky, subversive, and all the more empowering. But over the last 14 years, we’ve created spaces for immigrant youth [where they] felt empowered to find their voice, and they did not feel like they had to stay in the shadows.”
C4D Executive Director of Tabitha Sookdeo called the gala “bittersweet,” noting that eight people were apprehended in a raid from masked federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at a car wash on Dixwell Avenue in Hamden hours before the gala took place.
“Our young people, they’re really scared,” she said. “But at the same time, they are resilient and strong. We have a lot of power. People think that young people don't have power, that we don't have a voice, but we have proven for over 15 years that we have this innate strength and this innate power and that we really ought to use them.”
Sookdeo said that while there isn’t much that can be done at a federal level, organizing work can still take effect hyperlocally and pushing for the progression of rights in the state.
“Ultimately, we know that nobody's gonna come and save us. So we have to pick up that mantle and figure out what it is that we need to do.”