Immigration laws in Alabama are taking a toll on those who deserve it least: children.
Here is an article, posted by USA Today, about how Hispanic families are afraid to send their children to school in a time when the state is cracking down on illegal immigrants of all ages. For the first time, children enrolling in school are required to provide an American birth certificate, or else some proof of their legal status. Even the children who were born and raised in the U.S., but have parents who were not, fear the questions and suspicion they face from the school system. Some families are even relocating, as is illustrated in this video posted at cnn.com.
The United States prides itself on being a nation of security, so why are we forcing our most innocent demographic to hide like fugitives? Young kids shouldn’t have to live in a state of fear, worrying that one wrong move or a slip of the tongue will get them and/or their families deported. No child should feel they cannot even get a basic public education in a safe environment.
This isn’t just a failure on the part of the sate of Alabama, but on the U.S. as a whole. For too long the issue of immigration has swept under rugs. Legislatures have shuffled the rules around and made small, virtually insignificant passes at trying to control the situation, when in fact an entire overhaul of the immigration process has been in order for decades. I’m not suggesting there is an easy solution here – there definitely isn’t- but I don’t feel enough effort has been made to examine the issue. The immigration system is complicated and broken, but the last thing we should be doing is scaring people into submission, especially kids.
There is a political firestorm brewing in Alabama. Here are some other stories generating a lot of interest around the country:
ReplyDeletehttp://cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2011/10/04/romo-al-immigration-students-absent.cnn.html
http://www.espuelas.com/_Fernando-Espuelas-Interview-Bishop-Will-Willimon-Alabama-HB56/audio/903819/163191.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/04/us/after-ruling-hispanics-flee-an-alabama-town.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail1=y
I'm posting this for Ruby:
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't seem fair that the children that were brought here by immigrants should pay the cost of their parent's actions. While I understand that these people are breaking the rules by being here, there are other ways to find them. This country was established as a refuge from the tyranny of oppressive governments and as a land of opportunity for growth, which is why a lot of people come here. Lets not forget that we all came to this country as immigrants at some point, so why do we all of a sudden think that we are better than these current immigrants? It's evident that we do, otherwise we would not be denying these immigrants the same opportunities that our ancestors got. Not only are we denying those people the chance to grow and flourish, but we are also going after their children, bringing fear into their poor little hearts. Growing up is hard enough, but imagine going to school with the fear of saying the wrong thing, and thereby risking your family's life in the US. Sounds like oppression? Just like what the English colonists came here to escape. It seems unfair to 1. deny these people the rights that our own ancestor got and 2. have children grow up with the constant fear of messing up. We can make all rules that we want, but lets be sensible about it.