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Protection for all immigrants - Beyond DACA

One way I pay the bills around here is to translate documents from Spanish to English. This week I completed a translation project for some old friends. The last time I'd been in their home was before the eldest daughters quinceanera fiesta. We were at the party but I was nevertheless awed by the magnificent portrait of the daughter in her quinceanera finery. She's a beautiful young woman. She's also an excellent high school athlete and a wonderful sister to her three younger sisters.

"Did you know they turned down Maria's (not her real name) DACA application," her Mom told me. "They didn't believe she was here in preschool in 2007 even though we had records."

I knew Maria in 2007 and I know she was in preschool in 2007. Maria had applied for DACA after the Trump election. We decided the Trumpists were simply making it hard for kids to get DACA.

Maria's Mom and Dad are undocumented but her three sisters are citizens. Her Mom has had an citizenship application in since about 2005. Her sister is a citizen so she's sponsoring her. But sponsorships like that can take much of a life time.

So what does America do about this fairly typical family. The parents own a home, pay taxes, work with false i.d.'s and drive illegally because they must, and are leaders in their church community. They are also part of a large and complex extended family of citizens and non-citizens.

The important thing to understand about Maria and her family is that their lack of papers is both the least important thing about their full and complete lives and, perversely, the most important thing about their lives. For all of them; citizen, DREAMER, and undocumented parent.

I came across the following article in the newsletter for Interfaith Worker Justice. I share it with you because I believe it describes what we must do as a nation as regards families like Maria's.

PROTECTION FOR ALL IMMIGRANTS

The Trump Administration has declared war on immigrants, refugees, and other undocumented people in the United States. They can do so because our broken immigration laws and enforcement (are) rooted in white supremacy, xenophobia, and racism.

We are committed to Protection For All Immigrants - not just DREAMers or those who fit the narrative of merit - based immigration that is antithetical to the welcoming tradition of our nation. Our work for Protection For All includes DREAMers. It includes their parents and loved ones. It includes more than 300,000 Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients.

This focus on "ideal" or "good" immigrants has erased the experiences of the rest of the immigrant population and ignores the complexity of immigration as a multi-dimensional issue.

While these lives and livelihoods are being threatened, the invisibility of these stories makes it even more difficult to raise awareness about the plight of all undocumented people and their families.

The reality is that without an overhaul of the immigration law that protects all and ensures the dignity of all the members of our communities, there will continue to be mass deportations and constant attacks on families.

Now is the time to act. We need to decenter the DREAMer narrative and refocus efforts to include all the marginalized, immigrant communities tat are being left out of the conversation. Most importantly we must demand legislative action that ensures Protection For All in our immigrant and refugee communities. 

Interfaith Worker Justice www.iwj.org


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