(Image is of a poster available from the Northland Poster Collective.)Immigration has fallen off of the front pages of the papers, for the time being. However, I see the human face of our country's current jingoistic policies every day in my classroom. Of my 14 students, a full half are from Spanish speaking homes. Whether their families are here legally or not, I don't know. We don't ask.
In early December one of my students came to school and said that her mom was in jail. The police had come the night before and taken her away. Understandably, her family was reluctant to give us too much information. After several weeks of hearing that she was in jail, the child told me that her mom was in Honduras.
Early on, I asked my student if she had gotten to talk to her mom. She nodded, and said, "My mom just cried."
There is not a father present in this family. The children, a kindergartner and first grader, are living with their grandmother. Almost every day, my student tells me, "I miss my mom." One day she told me, "My mom is sleeping and she won't wake up." I can understand why she might think her mom is dead! We have a home communication system, where papers get sent home in a folder which the students return on the following day. Last week, my student brought her folder back, and she (or someone) had randomly stuck a green plastic tab on it. She pointed to the tab and said, "The police did that because my mom is in jail." When she was home sick on Thursday, she came back on Friday and asked me, "Did you miss me? I missed you. And I really miss my mom."
All I can say is, "I know you do. And I know your mom misses you and loves you very much."
My student is having a hard time retaining what she learns. I wonder why ... [she said sarcastically.]
I am heartbroken over this. What kind of cruelty are we, as a nation, practicing, to separate young children from their parents? This mom worked long hours, but she was always present for her children. She brought them to school, came to parent-teacher conferences, provided snacks for the class. I suspect she was caught in a workplace sweep.
It is clear that the INS is very selective about who they go after. Right now, the target is undocumented workers from Central and South America. I won't say too much, but if you are an undocumented worker from anywhere else, and your skin is the right color, you might have legal problems, but you aren't targeted for arrest and deportation.
I'd like to say that our country is better than this, except we're not. There's always a bogeyman, there's always a group that is singled out for institutionalized cruel and inhumane treatment.
I know, I know. I have had this discussion with friends who are quite progressive, who have little sympathy for undocumented immigrants. There are plenty of ways to get here legally, etc. etc. But the fact is, there are people here illegally, and from a practical point alone, what is accomplished by being cruel to their children?
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Not to mention the fact that corporations benefit hugely from this whole situation. If a person is here "illegally" and he or she is scared of getting deported, he/she won't complain about illegal labor practises and illegally low wages. This, in turn, drives wages down for citizens and legal "aliens," all of which adds up to huge profits for those on the top. The last thing they really want is to put a stop to the flow of "illegals."
Sweet Jesus, what terrible story.
No human being is "illegal." Think of the lesson this little child is learning.
I have all the sympathy in the world for undocumented workers. We raped their home country for profits and then we screwed them over with NAFTA, why shouldn't they come to this country to find work, giving them a job is the least we can do.
You must feel terribly frustrated.
This issue is dear to my heart. All of my students are immigrants, some documented, some not. Many families live in fear, people are taken advantage of, while US businesses profit. I firmly believe we need comprehensive immigration reform and a path to citizenship for those who are already here.
And there are certainly NOT "plenty of ways to get here legally." What ways? Be European...have a college degree and a skill the US govt values...marry a US citizen....be the relative of a US citizen....that's about it. I would bet that anyone who claims there are plenty of ways has no experience whatsoever dealing with the INS.
Thank you to all of you who have responded. According to my school social worker, the splitting up of families has been happening in other communities around the state for some time. Now we're experiencing it. I haven't seen it yet, but the ESL teacher who works with me said there was an article in the paper this weekend about the sheriff's dept. starting to "crack down" so I'm sure we will be seeing more.
This is so sad. We have a huge Central American immigrant population here, but our county and state take a more humane approach; not so our neighbors in Virginia, so I'm sure this is happening there. We applaud people who flee oppression to come to the US; I wish that people would get that desperate, hopeless poverty is just as bad as political oppression.
This just blows my mind. With so many pressing issues regarding the economy, the war, the environment, our government turns to scare tactics about defenseless immigrants! That'll take the focus off the real issues! The finger of blame works every time. Making American low-wage earners feel that they're getting ripped off of jobs by those illegal "aliens". How dare they want to drive or send their children to school!
I'm a fortunate immigrant. My mother had a brother who married an American and we were able to come here legally. I have a cousin who was an illegal immigrant to Canada and they're much kinder there. Also she (and I) though essentially Latinos, are white. It's racism and hate that drives these inhumane policies.
Racism and hate, so true. So sad.
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