Ma Del Carmen-Sanchez, 45, brought her two daughters  from Mexico to the U.S. a decade ago to pursue the American dream. She hoped for better education for her children and a better life for her family. Sanchez, her husband and her two older daughters are all undocumented, only her youngest was born in the country legally. Now sitting in a small apartment housing the five of them, she offered her resignation to her belief that the American Dream is broken.

But her elder daughters see a rebirth of the dream nearly complete. She's now eligible to receive state aid to pay for college and a pathway to citizenship is closer in sight than at any point during her life. That means better job prospects than her mother has had to deal with.

For Sanchez, the hardest thing is not able to find a stable job or have a stable home because of her status. They recently moved into this two-bedroom apartment with a kitchen being the living room, and little space between the couch and the TV. Compared to the previous attic, it was a nicer place for them, Sanchez said.

“We didn’t know English and we didn’t have papers; so if they found out, we would be deported,” Sanchez paused, tears welling up, “We were scared of going and asking for a job, because that was the situation that stopped us at times.”

SEE ALSO: Immigration Should Be A Top National Priority.

Sanchez always encourages her daughters that they still have the ability and opportunity to move forward and upward, despite being undocumented. Her second child Carol Cano-Sanchez, 17, is going to graduate from Franklin High School this year. For Cano-Sanchez, it took her a lot of courage to say that she is undocumented. She said a lot of undocumented immigrants have low self-esteem because they don’t speak English and feel isolated in society.

A year ago, she was bullied at school because of her undocumented status. Her friends at school thought she was kidding when she revealed her immigration status to them the first time. They started calling her names, and asked her to go back to “where she belonged.” They told Cano-Sanchez her parents took away their parents’ jobs, and she took away their education.

“I was devastated, but I didn’t show it,” Cano-Sanchez said.

SEE ALSO: House GOP Begins Immigration Discussion.

Depressed and lonely, Cano-Sanchez locked herself up in her bedroom after coming home from school. Carmen-Sanchez asked her daughter what was going on, and Cano-Sanchez only answered “leave me alone.”

“I was thinking ‘it’s true I don’t belong here. What am I doing here?’” Cano-Sanchez continued, “Everything just fell apart…It came to a point where I just wanted to go to sleep. I didn’t want to do anything, not making eye contact with someone close to you any more.”

Music was her exit from her frustration, but once the headphones were off, the depression haunted her again. She never told her school teachers about the bullying for fear of revenge from classmates.

“I looked out of the window, everything was cloudy and in slow motion,” she said.

SEE ALSO: Same-Sex Couples Enter Immigration Debate.

Carmen-Sanchez was devastated to see her daughter go through the bully. She said she would have never imagined a country with freedom and a better life would have bully.

“I always told [my daughters] that they would learn to be stronger and braver and to show that just because we are undocumented, it doesn’t mean we can’t be intelligent people or capable of attaining many things,” Carmen-Sanchez said.

Now Cano-Sanchez, with renewed self-esteem and pride, would confront and smile to those who ask her to get out of the country that she called home.

Cano-Sanchez never met her biological father, nor talked to him on the phone. The man abandoned her and her family when she was three years old. He died in an accident when Cano-Sanchez was 13.

“It felt like there was an empty hole in my stomach,” she said. “I know I am not the only person that lost a loved one.”

A loved one? For a man she only saw on a photo? For a father who left her and never contacted her? Cano-Sanchez, with tears rolling in her eyes, said “He was my dad. He gave me life. I don’t have memories of him, but that doesn’t make him a stranger.”

On the other side of the kitchen, Carmen-Sanchez was sobbing quietly.

SEE ALSO: Undocumented Youths Banking On Deferred Action For Opportunities.

The California Dream Act went into effect at the beginning of this year. It’s a package of California state laws that allow children who were brought into the U.S. under the age of 16 illegally and who have attended school on a regular basis or meet in-state tuition and GPA requirements to apply for student financial aid benefits, like Cal Grants. Cano-Sanchez is happy that the California Dream Act has given her a path to financial aids for college.

“It was a big relief not just for me,” Cano-Sanchez said. “Finally something good happened to me.”

President Obama’s recent announcement of creating a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country has enlightened the mother and daughter, both have supported and trusted the president. They think Congress is the president’s biggest obstacle to the immigration reform.

SEE ALSO: Obama Steps Up For Illegal Immigrants.

Carmen-Sanchez is very happy to see that Obama is moving forward with his immigration agenda. She prays to God everyday for the immigration reform to come true.

“We have to keep on fighting. We have to keep on looking for a way to get ahead just like we have up until now,” Carmen-Sanchez said, “Because since without papers, we have gotten ahead. Maybe we’ll keep supporting [Obama].”

Reach Shako Liu here. Follow here on Twitter here.

SEE OTHER STORIES ABOUT IMMIGRATION REFORM.

Top Three Reasons Immigration Reform Is Not A Winner For The GOP

Why The Opposition To Same-Sex Couples Benefiting From Immigration Reform?