An Arizona college student who is living in the U.S. illegally is dealing with online backlash after posting a picture of her tax return on Facebook.
“I just really wanted to beat the myth that undocumented immigrants don’t pay taxes and contribute to the United States,” Arizona State University student Belen Sisa, 23, told KPHO.
The Arizona Republic reports Sisa is shielded from possible deportation by former president Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
The newspaper says Sisa came to the U.S. from Argentina as a six-year-old with her parents and the family overstayed their visas.
“Uncle Sam doesn’t care if you have a social security number,” Sisa told KPNX. “I can’t receive financial aid for school, I can’t get a health care plan, I can’t receive unemployment if I were to be fired from my job.”
Sisa said in her post that she filed state and federal taxes and paid $300 to Arizona. She says she was hoping to “make a statement and educate people.”
“People have this idea that becoming a citizen is really easy. Just fill out a form and you get in a line,” she said. “Just thinking about those things, that’s what gave me the ‘light bulb’ moment.”
Sisa says the post has received a slew of negative comments, including some questioning “Why doesn’t she become a citizen?” and others saying users were reporting her to federal officials.
Sisa served as a page at the Democratic National Convention last year.
— With files from Global News
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