We are all “los inmigrantes” , and the soul is The First Immigrant: The Soul cannot be held back by any imaginary boundary drawn against it; not by mountain ranges, not by rivers, nor by human scorn.
The Soul goes everywhere, like an old woman in her right mind, going anywhere she wishes, saying whatever she wants, bending to mend whatever is within her reach. Wherever the Soul migrates, it brings blessed and often desperately needed new life.
CPE
I shall begin by saying that everybody that is involved with the immigration phenomenon -detractors and defenders, victims and offenders, and everybody that might be interested in learning about the problems we are facing regarding immigration must be aware that what is visible to the eye is just the tip of the iceberg. In order to address the problems as humanely as possible we have the responsibility to learn as much as we can about them.
Even though countries like the USA or Spain might say that because undocumented people are illegally that humanitarian attitudes can be taken off of the table, I would argue that such countries should instead be teaching every enforcement officer that the undocumented are vulnerable human beings who are in the country for a number of reasons. Almost none of them come with the plan of committing a crime.
Detractors of illegal immigration assert that these people are stealing jobs to which Americans have the right. Defenders tell us that those are jobs that the majority of Americans refuse to do. In my opinion, neither of them are completely right. The educational level of the majority of Americans who refuse to do these kinds of jobs for the minimum wage is significantly higher than the level of education the majority of immigrants have. It is thus understandable that they do not want to perform these jobs. They have aspirations that are higher.
I do believe that the country of origin of the undocumented is primarily responsible for the social problems that have created illegal immigration. One of the responsibilities of any country is to provide education and health to its citizens and they should strive as well to create a healthy economic environment for its own nationals. That does not, however, mean that countries that struggle with illegal immigration can simply refuse to try to find productive solutions.
I will take some of your time to talk specifically about some cases with which I have been involved that demonstrate that enforcement authorities are not ALWAYS taking into consideration either cultural differences nor the basic needs of human beings when trying to resolve cases in which immigrants are involved.
One of them is the enforcement of the law that logically applies to American citizens who have been educated all their lives under certain beliefs, patterns and criteria specially in the enforcement of the law in civil cases . For example what is called_”UNION DE HECHO” (marital Union) in my country. The marital union between a young woman -a minor of 14, 15, or 16 years of age-and an adult male.(19, 20, 21 etc) whether it is an immoral thing or not, is a common practice among Latin American people especially among indigenous people And there’s a reason for this- it is common that women are expected to leave the paternal home in order to release their families of some financial burden to a family that it is already extremely poor, they are expected to provide help to the "husband" through delivering new members to the family to help in the fields at very young ages since theirs is an agricultural dependent economy. .Also the life expectancy of people there is much less than what it is here; so it is not only expected but also well seen that young women begin marital life at early ages
I repeat, many of those parameters or ways of living should be changed SPECIALLY in behalf of women, but as any cultural change it will take decades and we cannot or should not expect to make said change within a single generation which is used to it.
This was the case of A who got "married" with a 15 year old, he was 21, the parents in Guatemala gave their consent, they procreate a child, when the mother took the baby to the doctor the doctor called DFCS and the family was separated, the baby and the mother taken away from the father and he was charged with statutory rape. Fortunately, the judge considered custom (one of the principles of international law) and ruled on his behalf, the couple got married and they were reunited. But this was an exception, since the majority of times these men are sentenced to 30 years. SO for an action that would never be considered a crime in their country of origin, men might serve half of their lives in prison
Or the case of B who might be charged with Death Penalty for –allegedly- having killed her baby after she delivered it in an emergency room bathroom after waiting hours to be treated for the abdominal pain that brought her to the hospital in the first place. To believe that she didn’t know she was pregnant is impossible for any western well educated woman, yet such ignorance is possible
AGAIN there’s no excuse nor justification for actions like this, IT IS still a crime but at the same time, this person is going to receive the full force of the law when her education, her contact with the world and any information in regards to what life is, birth control, what an abortion is etc was never at her disposal. Yet she is being judged without taking said facts as mitigating circumstances, when they are. Culturally we are the product of what we have lived, been taught, etc…so enforcement officers should never disregard the differences that has to do with culture specially when there’s a clash of two or maybe three different cultures and the gaps that do exist in the education of the persons involved should not be disregarded
On one hand one has the laws, cultural environment, the expected behavior in a country that is dealing with the illegal unwanted immigrant population and what it is expected IMMEDIATELY from them even though they don't have any idea of what they might be violating, and on the other hand one has the immigrant population striving to succeed and assimilate in a culture that is extremely different from theirs at a pace that in the majority of cases is impossible to follow
Language, beliefs, lack of opportunities, cultural differences are only some of the factors that will be ignored when evaluating the actions of the undocumented population. But then again how could that be taken into account if enforcement officers have not been properly educated (trained, prepared)?
The separation of families that involved children born as American Citizens is another occurrence that happens every day, that should be avoid and which clearly shows that in some instances there might be a tangible disrespect from the authorities or a tremendous ignorance in regards to the basic rights any person should have not withstanding his/ her immigration status,
As an example I would like to cite the case of C whose children were taken away because they were badly nourished and sick but also -basically- because the parents were ignorant, poor, and undocumented, and I’m citing some of the repost I have had at sight regarding this case His intentions to be the father his children deserved according to his own natural feelings and his efforts to comply with whichever task or requirements were imposed upon him were never taken in to consideration and these parents of 5 impaired children were separated from the children they love , forced to spend money they didn’t have in lawyers who didn’t excel in their job, and to take many trips to the consulate -4 hours away- and up to this date almost two years afterwards they have not been able to reunite with their family; the children are still sick because the disease was a genetic disease that is very difficult to overcome or cure Today the children are living separated from their family in foster homes that no matter how good they are, are not their real family. The parents are struggling with judges trials, depos etc trying to understand why their children are not allowed to live with them and it is highly probable that their parentals rights will soon be terminated..but based on what?
Should we not help these people rather than separate them?
The question here is: are we all doing our best efforts to keep families together, to respect human beings no matter where they come from and to address difficult matters such as illegal immigration in a way that will always take into account that we are dealing with human beings that are vulnerable and, in the majority of cases, eager to learn, improve, work and assimilate. And what are the implications for the future if we continue to separate families? For example, could we be helping in the long run the persistence of gangs by not keeping families together?
If we determine that the undocumented must be returned to their country of origin, then I still say that we should elevate our voice, and point out injustices and violations of human rights. I’m not talking about constitutional rights for those who are not entitled to them, but simply the right to be treated as humans beings. People who are only striving for a better life. Each of us may have different views of the many problems that illegal immigration raises, but each of us, as privileged citizens, should strive to act with respect for our fellow human fellows who in the end have only sought a better life for themselves and their families – who strive for the dream that is uniquely American, the American Dream.
B Illescas
Kennesaw Seminar on immigration
Octobre 2008
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