Why Immigrant and Refugee Rights?
I grew up during a time of activism in our country. Many people took to the streets in the name of justice for the civil rights movement, women’s struggle for equality, Chicano rights, farm workers’ rights, and LGBTQ rights, just to name a few. There were anti-war movements, as well as empathy for returning veterans who had served our country, yet felt neglected and forgotten. There was concern for the homeless, for the hungry, and for the lack of adequate health insurance that left many destitute or dying. There was outrage over racial profiling, overcrowded prisons, and the continued use of the death penalty. Of no less importance was the welfare of all God’s creatures, from those raised for our consumption to those bred for our companionship. There were so many issues that needed our compassion and action decades ago, and here we are, at a very divisive and troubled time in our nation’s history, facing many of these same issues, some in dire need of attention. So, what do we do? How do we take on all of these problems when we have jobs and families, and illnesses and crises of our own?
While I was teaching at James Monroe High School in Los Angeles, I formed a group called Students in Action. Our motto was, “It’s better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” The students could choose whatever topic mattered most to them, learn everything they could about it, and then come up with actions that would bring awareness to others, as well as work towards improving the situation. As expected, their interests were varied, so they broke up into pairs or small groups, each tackling different issues, from animal rights, to human rights, to better food in the cafeteria.
Clearly, that’s the best solution: For each of us to choose one issue and give it our all, whenever we can, however we can. That doesn’t mean we ignore the others. Of course we can still sign petitions, march in the streets, donate, get involved, and speak out on myriad issues, but we can also take one particular area and focus our time and energy primarily on that, becoming a passionate, knowledgeable advocate.
My Choice
For me, it was immigrant and refugee rights. My Italian grandparents came to our country as young adults, looking for a better a life. There was great poverty in their villages, with little hope for a decent future. They were fortunate to come to the U.S. legally, as there was great demand for labor in factories, fields, and in the construction industry. Nevertheless, they dealt with the humiliation that discrimination brings. Thick accents, darker skin, and poverty singled them out as somehow inferior. My dad told me that he was punished by his teacher for speaking Italian in kindergarten! But they were hardworking, family-centered folks, with numerous extended-family members close-by, all who attended the local Italian Catholic church and lived in the Italian neighborhood. I have fond memories of my first five years of life, living in that neighborhood in a two-family house, my grandparents and treasured aunt upstairs, my parents, brother, and me downstairs. After we moved into our own home in another part of town, our Sundays still revolved around my grandparents’ house and church activities.
When I moved to Los Angeles and began teaching English as a Second Language to adults, I immediately felt a fierce connection to my Mexican and Central American students. The melodious Spanish language so similar to Italian, their ranchero music, much like the songs I heard on Grandpa’s “squeeza-box,” their reverence for the Catholic church, the Virgin Mary (la Virgen de Guadalupe) and all saints, and their food—spicy tomato-based sauces, stuffed enchiladas, just like manicotti! Most importantly, they were hardworking, family-centered folks, with numerous extended-family members close-by, all who attended the local Spanish-speaking Catholic church and lived in the Spanish-speaking neighborhood. Yes, I felt a fierce connection.
Why They Come
As I came to know them, I learned their stories of hardship and discrimination. Some were fleeing war and violence and could use legal means to enter our country by seeking asylum. Until recently, they were allowed to enter our country and remain legally while being processed. Those fleeing poverty and seeking a better life often risked their lives by crossing illegally. I came to understand why so many come without papers. Some may not have the required skills to meet a very limited quota, therefore would never qualify. Chances are their need is so dire, they don’t have the time or money to pay for the long, tedious process. Yet despite the fact that they cannot get legal papers, they still find work once here; in fact, many are actually recruited before they get here.
So, on the one hand, they are told they can’t come without legal papers, yet once here, they are hired in all areas of employment—and that’s because they are hardworking, responsible, dependable, respectful, and trustworthy. They pay rent and taxes, support local businesses, contribute to their community, eventually, many start their own businesses that serve their communities. They do not come “to live off the system” by any means, but to work hard, often at two or three jobs a week. They want to be here legally. They deserve to be here legally. If there are jobs for them, there should be legal working papers as well.
Humane Reform Needed
Something needs to be done to reform the immigration system. It is not a crime to seek a better life. Laws need to be changed. I am not advocating open borders, but I don’t think it’s just and fair to criminalize those who are only trying to do the best for their families. There has to be a more humane way.
In the 1990’s there was a surge of migrants crossing the border due to Mexico’s problematic economy and devalued peso. As a result, efforts were made to discourage them by building walls and investing in high tech lighting and means of detection. Instead of deterring, this only pushed migrants further east into the desert, where thousands died in their determined quest to cross the border. You can only imagine how desperate they must have been to attempt such a treacherous journey.
My Actions
In the late 1990’s I became involved with Amnesty International, focusing on immigrant and refugee rights. I wanted to better understand this complex issue. I was fortunate to take part in an experiential program through BorderLinks of Tucson, an organization that I will write about in a future blog post. In short, I was able to see and hear about the situation on both sides of the border in Nogales, Mexico and Nogales, Arizona, including a meeting with Border Patrol.
In 2002, I learned about Water Stations Project, a group of volunteers who put people before politics by placing water in strategic places in the desert in the hopes of saving a few lives. I met Father Richard Estrada, Enrique Morones, and John Hunter, leaders of this organization, and with them I took part in a day of honor and remembrance, as we delivered water to desert stations and then decorated graves of the unidentified migrants, men, women and children, who were buried in a dirt lot in the back of a cemetery in Holtville.
Why I Chose to Write
These experiences broadened my knowledge and opened my heart. But being a writer, I wanted to create a story that would do just that for the reader—broaden their knowledge and open their hearts—and minds. To my deep sadness, an anti-immigrant sentiment was sweeping the nation, based, I felt, on lack of knowledge and direct experience.
For me, literature had always been a great teacher. A good book either helps us see through new eyes and experience a life different from our own, or it reflects our own experiences and shows us that we are not alone. In this case, I wanted to create a story that would take the reader through my experience, so I initially began with a story of woman, like me, who is an observer, learning along the way, as she moves from the east coast to southern California and encounters these issues. While I felt this approach had merit, it didn’t go deep enough for me. It lacked the passion that I felt so viscerally.
Then in 2004, in response to a writing assignment in Gayle Brandeis’s novel class, I began writing about Alma, a young girl in Mexico, who adored her father, but whose hopes and dreams were dashed when her father, a migrant farmworker, disappeared after crossing the border for work—and so she set out on a journey north to find him. This story just poured out of me with passion, energy, and purpose. So, I kept going.
I wanted others to be able to see through her eyes and experience what her life was like, why she left, what the border crossing experience was like, and what she went through afterwards. Of course, there are thousands of stories, but I chose to start with one, Alma’s, a character I created, although she took me on the journey once we began. I was able to tell other stories through hers, involving characters from Guatemala and those born and raised in the U.S. as well.
I included a bit of the legacy of Dolores Huerta, for just as I taught my high school students of her equal importance to Cesar Chavez in the Farm Workers Movement, I wanted my readers to be informed, too. I added Alma’s love of math to encourage all young women to embrace the study of math and science. What began as Searching for Dolores, then Giving to the Light / Dar a Luz, ultimately became simply Luz, a story of light driving out darkness.
This was one form of action for my chosen issue of immigrant and refugee rights. It began long before the damage done by the present administration, but it will certainly continue as long as families live in fear of deportation and children deal with the long-term effects of family separation; as long as ignorance and fear of ‘other’ is encouraged or, worse, ignored; and as long as we, as a nation, do not embrace the values upon which we were founded. We are a country of immigrants, a small part of a long chain of Americas: North, Central, and South. We are more alike than we are different for love of family is at the heart of this matter. If we can only focus on that, perhaps we can open our hearts and minds and find better ways to address this complex issue.
