Voices from Inside Speaking out on Immigration

Once a person has entered America and worked here, they should be able to become citizens. America was built by immigrant labor. Some came in chains as slaves, some to escape poverty. All contributed their blood, sweat and tears to build this country. Whether they came on a slave ship, through Ellis Island in NY, through Angel Island in SF, or over the border from Mexico, all came with dreams of freedom. They worked long tiresome hours that benefi ted the economy and their families. Perhaps once upon a time “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free” meant something. We still have a task of bulding togetherness and creating a unifi ed people that will take care of generations to come. We can’t discard the moral value of this group of people. —Chi Chi Locci

We are all immigrants. We all come from elsewhere. The Arizona law serves as a platform for racism. —S. N.

The Arizona law is not right. Anyone who is not white is now under suspicion of being illegal. I may parole to Arizona. When I do I will have no I.D., I will have just left prison. If I get stopped without an I.D., that is a violation of parole, and a violation of this law. The law plays into racial stereotypes: anyone who looks Hispanic is assumed to be illegal. This law violates human rights, it belittles people. —C. A.

The Arizona immigration law is unjust and immoral. Deportations break up families. When undocumented parents are deported, how are the children to survive? Do they go into the foster system and suffer? In the foster system siblings get separated, further fracturing the family. Such children grow up feeling unwanted and angry at society, more likely to end up in Juvenile Hall then “graduate” to prison. They are at risk of becoming institutionalized. This increases crime rather than security. Why are people forced to fl ee their own country and forced to make a living somewhere else, where they are subjected to exploitation, mistreatment, low pay with no health insurance, no retirement benefi ts? The solution is for all people to thrive where they are. —V. Juarez

Some police will take advantage of this law and people will get hurt. There is a lot of prejudice in this society. The system is crooked and I don’t see a way to fi x it. It needs to be all torn down and we need to start from scratch. —T. P.

My friend is looking at 5 years in federal prison just for crossing the border. She already spent a year in San Diego jail. And she didn’t committ any crime! It used to be at most 90 days for crossing; she doesn’t understand why it is so harsh now. When she was deported over a year ago, she was escorted to Tiujana with no money, no list of resources to help her, nothing. She has no family there. There are no shelters there, no help for the homeless, no services. There was no way for her to either make a living there or move anywhere else. It made her desperate. Since there are many other desperate people there, it is not safe. So she walked back across the border and got picked up again. This is cruel: sending people out with no way to live! —V. Cardinal

Last updated January 6, 2011 06:10 PM