Immigration. What do you imagine when someone mentions immigration? Do you think about the border or do you think about immigrant children? Do you think about taxes not being paid or do you think about families being separated through deportations? Do you think about jobs being taken away from the American people or do you think about the high school kids working as janitors with their parents to earn a living? Or maybe you don’t really have much to think about. Well, try imagining the people who you consider to be illegal immigrants. Do you imagine the person to be young or old? What ethnic group do you see or how do you imagine them entering the country? All of these questions matter and make a difference in the conversation and in people’s lives. The dehumanization of immigrants and the undocumented/DACA movement has to stop, this community is more than the money they contribute to the economy. Immigrants are those who are from another country, the United States has many, but they’re divided into categories. Immigrants can be green card holders, visa holders, undocumented, or DACA and each group have their own meaning of what it is to be an immigrant in the U.S.
The Trump administration has call an end to the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program that nearly 800,000 immigrants participated in and benefited from as students and professionals. This program was alive for about five years and in this span of time, DACA recipients were able to make a huge difference in our communities and lives. Now, these recipients fear for their future and their families. The Trump administration has claimed to want to legalize the DACA program by ending it and sending it back to Congress. While legalizing DACA is a great idea, and something that has been tried since 2001 with the Dream Act, ending the program has left 800,000 people stuck in limbo once again. Congress has been given six months to come up with a substitute for DACA and to make it a law. After the clock has run out, the recipients will continue to try to move on with their lives, studies, and jobs until their DACA documents have expired. The details of what comes next after the six months are vague, but most immigration lawyers assume that the recipients will be subject to deportations.
Since the announcement by Jeff Sessions, attorney general, the undocumented communities have risen and have spoken out against this injustice. These recipients have been nothing but model citizens all of their lives and they will fight for their futures as long as it takes. I am an ally to the movement and this is a letter of support to the all of the recipients and families affected. This injustice has made the communities closer, college campuses all over the country has spoken out, and not to mention all of the government officials fighting for the cause. I am here to let you know that this will not go unnoticed, that this will not divide us, and we are all here to stay. I invite you all to join me in the Day of Action taking place in October 4th, the day before the deadline to ever renew DACA again. I invite you to stand with the immigrants with me.
Pictures:
https://espaillat.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-adriano-espaillat-r…
http://thehill.com/latino/349282-mexico-profoundly-laments-end-of-daca
http://cornellsun.com/2017/09/08/cornellians-rally-against-removal-of-daca/