“U.S.-Raised
Immigrants Remain in U.S. Custody” from ABC News
On Monday night,
thirty-four undocumented jóvenes were detained in the U.S. after they crossed the
bridge between Mexico and Laredo while bravely chanting “Undocumented and
unafraid!” The group was dressed in graduation caps and gowns and included
several minors.
Each of the thirty-four had
grown up in the U.S. but returned to Mexico for various reasons, including
deportation. They marched in the hopes that because they had left the U.S. before
DACA was announced but would have been eligible to apply had they stayed, they
will now be considered. The article states that the group could be in custody for weeks, or even deported.
This tactic follows in the camino of the Dream Nine, who entered the U.S. in July
at Nogales, AZ and are still awaiting their hearing before a judge.
I admire and am
inspired by the bravery of these jóvenes. As was the case after the Dream Nine
courageously and unapologetically crossed the border into Arizona (bad-asses!),
many are questioning whether or not this tactic is effective. Of course it is
an important question to ask. The article concludes with a quote from an
immigration lawyer about how instead of using these tactics, we need to
concentrate on pressuring the House to reform the system. I think that the
effectiveness of this kind of activism is largely determined by the publicity
it receives, and unfortunately this article trivializes the experiences of
these young people. Its author, Christopher Sherman, tells of a teenager who
returns to his hometown in Mexico, leaving his parents and siblings in the
States; then he re-enters the U.S. after discovering that he doesn’t fit in in
Mexico because he wore different clothes and spoke different Spanish. What a
watered-down, trivialized version of what had to have been an incredibly
difficult journey, both physically and emotionally! (Geography/memory/identity borders!)
Rather than tell the human version of this very human story, this
over-simplified article, which even drops the I-word, elicited very disturbing/frustrating/saddening
comments, such as,
Make a U-turn and go back to fix the problems of your home
country that compelled your parents to sneak themselves and you here in the
first place. Or is it just that much easier to complain about our immigration
laws instead of your native country's problems?
And another, a haunting echo of Sylvester, “Stay away we
don't want you!!!!”
Thankfully, a lot of awareness was raised about the
Dream Nine via social media such as Facebook, which reaches many more young
people in the States than ABC News does. From what I saw, there was a lot of
support for the Dream Nine in social media (I’m sure, however, that that has a
lot to do with who my friends are on Facebook).
Hopefully this group will also be shown that support and
encouragement for their bravery, and hopefully their demonstration will propel
real change.
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