In her head scarf and T-shirt declaring her undocumented status, Hina Naveed realizes she could be doubly vulnerable if Donald J. Trump carries through with his campaign threats against Muslims and immigrants.
But as the 26-year-old nursing student stood in front of Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan on a cold, blustery Tuesday morning, she struck a defiant tone.
“We as immigrants and children of immigrants are so much more than our legal status,” Ms. Naveed told a small group or reporters and supporters as others watched a live feed on the Dream Action Coalition Facebook page. “We have families, hopes, dreams, and a right to exist in peace. We will not let fear push us back into the shadows.”
Ms. Naveed, who came to the United States from Pakistan when she was 10, is in her final semester of a baccalaureate nursing program at the College of Staten Island, part of the City University of New York. She is already a registered nurse, having taken the state licensing exam after receiving an associate degree in nursing.
Her plans to practice here depend on a program that President-elect Trump vowed during his campaign to eliminate.
