{Photo by: ajari}
Yesterday, I cried.
And then, I got really angry.
It happened when I read this story about what’s happening in Alabama after the most ludicrous immigration laws were passed there last week. Latino parents are withdrawing their children from schools there fearing a new law that requires schools to check students’ immigration status.
How can this be happening? And, more importantly, what does it say about who we are as a people and the kind of society we’re becoming?
School officials claim the state is only trying to compile statistics, but if you were undocumented, would you actually believe that? I know I wouldn’t and I would do the same thing many of these parents are doing which is either keeping their kids from school or withdrawing them because they’re moving elsewhere. Obviously, Alabama doesn’t want them there.
I cried because I thought about my 5-year-old daughter who absolutely loves her school and while she enjoys weekends just as much as anybody else, Monday can never come soon enough. It might have to do with the newness of it all, since she just started kinder. Or maybe she’ll just be one of those children who will always likes school. Either way, I imagined having to withdraw her from school for fear that we might be targeted and persecuted. And my heart got really tight.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying it’s okay for people to enter the United States illegally, but the reality is that they are already here and we can’t ignore that. (Why they are here is a whole other story that would require its own separate post, but suffice it to say that it has a lot to do with supply and demand.) For many of them, especially those who were brought here when they were little or those who were born here, this is the only country they’ve ever known. In fact, many of them don’t even speak Spanish.
I also cried because I can’t imagine what it must feel like to be a child and live like that. Unfortunately, leaving in fear of what could happen is the norm for many of these kids and undoubtedly that takes a toll. In fact, a Harvard study released two weeks ago showed the seriously negative effects of growing up as the child of an undocumented immigrant. According to the study, ““It affects their cognitive development, engagement in school and their ability to be emerging citizens.” A glimpse into the next generation.
I don’t know what the solution is. But I do that no child should ever be denied an education. Ever. And while the law in Alabama doesn’t say that if parents can’t prove they’re here legally, they can’t enroll their children, asking them their immigration status is enough to scare them into hiding considering the anti-immigrant atmosphere in this country the last few years.
In the end, I also cried because I feel like instead of moving forward, laws like the ones passed in Alabama seem to suggest that we, in fact, are going backward. Then again, it’s Alabama we’re talking about here. Seems to me like this is a classic case of ”those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” (Spanish-American philosopher George Santayana.)
I pray I’m wrong.
Having lived and worked in Los Angeles, I have seen too many of these negative effects take hold of the young children of undocumented immigrants. The stress is massive and the outcomes are real- these kids are suffering huge losses. I completely agree with you, Roxana: illegal immigration is wrong, but our political leaders need to come up with more realistic and appropriate policies to deal with immigration as it exists today. What just happened in Alabama is insane, and it makes me sad too.
The effects on these children, many of whom were born here and are American citizens, is something we can’t ignore. The implications for the future are serious and it doesn’t seem like things are going to get any better any time soon.
As a mother, I thank God everyday that we are lucky enough to be here legally, but it also breaks my heart to even imagine the hardship these young children face daily.
I read about this too and it made me really angry. These kids are having their whole lives and school years disrupted and uprooted. School attendance is so important. Who knows how many weeks or months they’ll miss, and how far they’ll fall behind while this goes on. Some families may have pulled the kids from class while they try to figure out what to do. Others are probably trying to move out of state – but in the end, they are all missing valuable time when they could be learning — not to mention the added emotional baggage that will now distract them when they come back to school.
I really can’t understand how politicians can still proudly say we’re a nation of immigrants without getting struck by lightening for being such hypocrites.
Tracy, I think that what bothered me the most was the instability created by thoughtless laws like these ones. I’ve talked to undocumented immigrants who already live in fear of the “what ifs” in their lives, add to that laws like the ones passed in Alabama and I can’t even imagine what it must be like not to have “papers.”
As I do research for our book, I too I’m amazed by how easily people seem to forget the history of this great country!
You are right, Roxana, living that way takes its toll, and I think it is a common misperception that it only lands on undocumented people. In fact a lot of the time it is an entire family who are citizens and 1 person has nothing.
People in “my world” seem really and truly surprised that our laws do prevent natural born citizens from getting a green card, visa, or anything, for their spouse unless they leave the country for 10 years (including the citizen if they don’t want to tear up the family) even though they are here paying taxes all this time.
It is especially disheartening as this is my country, my only country, where I was born, I cannot even claim not any small piece of any other country in the world, and I’m told I’m supposed to leave.
When people on tv talk about these issues they flat out lie, and even when what they say is technically true they leave out the most important part. But it seems like people are always ready to believe bad things about somebody who seems a bit different on the surface.
What I have found is that when they hear actual details people see it is not what they were told.
It’s unjust, and I did have a lot of time really angry and fearful but in the end, you just have to suck it up and live your life. Maybe when our son is a bit older I may become some activist type of protester but for now, I think he needs my time to be here with him, and he needs a smiling mommy not a bitter stressed-out mommy. We try to give the older kids opportunities to ask us questions about these things and reassure them that we don’t always know exactly what will happen, but we know that we will get through it together and we will make sure they are fine.
I can tell you that my husband came when going across the border was no more serious than going 65 in a 55mph zone. Now, things have changed, and he would prefer not to be here anymore, EXCEPT for the children. Their mom is not leaving the U.S. so therefore they are not going and therefore he is not going. As you pointed out, Roxana, people are already here.
As an American I do not appreciate my government from behind a little window informing me I should not have married the only man who has been truly good to me, someone who returned to this country and stays here BECAUSE of being a responsible parent.
I understand that undocumented immigrants’ children are a drain on community resources. Pure and simple, proponents of laws like these choose to put their short-term checkbooks ahead of their own long-term well being. The immigrants’ children are not going anywhere, they’re just not going to be as educated. Everyone is going to pay for the consequences of that.
I completely agree with your last line, Beth. If things don’t change, we are all going to have to deal with the consequences. Unfortunately, the education issue is even more problematic at the college level.
Education is the basis of any society that wishes to prosper. Ignorance is probably one of the reasons we are in this big mess right now. Is this really what we all want for the future of this country?
I appreciate your empathy towards the victims of this situation. I also appreciate you speaking out on behalf to many children in our nation who live in fear of being exposed. I am not making an effort to put blame on anyone. I am making an effort to help these children succeed in life. These children have many qualities that our nation could benefit from and I am not only speaking of Mexican children but children of all ethnic backgrounds who are here without say. I hope that we as a nation can come together to fight off the hatred involved with the Alabama law.
Thank you,
Samantha