Tom K Wong came to the US at Hong Kong at age 2. Like so many undocumented youth before him, he didn’t discover he was undocumented until age 16 when it was time to get a driver’s license. Today he is an American citizen, thanks to his wife of 11 years and mother of his triplet boys. He’s currently fighting on behalf of other dreamers and teaches political science at the University of California, San Diego.
“A lot of young undocumented immigrants aren’t aware that they’re undocumented,” noted Wong to KPBS. “They learn later in life, after they’ve spent a lifetime being a part of the society. In that context, learning that you’re undocumented is completely shattering for one’s identity. At least it was for me. Suddenly, the things I wanted to do I actually couldn’t do because of my identity.”
His speciality at UC San Diego is to study immigrant trends. His mom saw him in the newspaper, speaking out on behalf of dreamers, and she thought that was great.
