I usually reserve my political musings/rantings for my other blog, Weighed in the Balance, but this issue is more than political for me. This is a family issue and so it has won a place on our blog. Because I served my mission in Southern California and taught mostly Mexicans and many illegal immigrants about the gospel of Jesus Christ, they won an honorary place as members of my very own family. In short, I'm embarrassed by SB 1070. While I recognize that it is a reactionary, yet erroneous, gesture expressing frustration to the Feds (who constitutionally possess the right to determine immigration laws, unlike states), I am angry at the implication for racial profiling that will undoubtedly be a result of this bill. I've seen and heard a lot of racism against Mexicans, or people who" look" Mexican, this bill only promises to exacerbate that racism.
This is us in April with one of our honorary family members, Guillermo*. I taught him before and after his baptism, and we've been in steady contact since that time (3 years). He is an illegal immigrant. Despite the assumption many have that this makes him a depraved criminal, Guillermo is a hard worker and an extremely dedicated church member. He wants more than anything to be a U.S. citizen and wishes he could pay taxes.
Guillermo recently visited us, much to our delight, when he traveled to Salt Lake for General Conference. We took him out to dinner,where we were able to chat. Guillermo is struggling to learn English, though it is difficult due to his demanding work and church schedule, and so we spoke mostly in Spanish. Occasionally he would break off and try to ask Derrick questions in English. Afterwards, we drove him to his friends' house where he was staying. We were almost to the house when our daughter started getting fussy in the backseat. Guillermo held her hand, trying to comfort her and kept whispering "Shh...shhh", which I thought was so sweet and adorable.
What I want more than anything is immigration reform that gives Guillermo a chance to achieve his dreams. Coming from a poor family living in a rural area of Mexico, Guillermo never had a fair chance to immigrate to the U.S. legally, our current immigration system being elitist and aristocratic. I wish this could change. In the meantime, I strongly oppose SB 1070 as a racist piece of legislation that treats everyone in Arizona with brown skin as a potential criminal and threat.*name has been changed to protect Guillermo's identity/privacy.
11 comments:
I could not agree more.
Serving a mission and being around amazing people who are trying their best and beyond like Guillermo really opens your eyes and your heart to the situation of so many. Now if only those who are in charge could open there eyes too.
It's not like we Arizonan's got to vote on SB 1070. I'm proud to be an Arizonan, but ashamed of our governor. Anyway, I agree with you. I know that something needs to be done to stop the drug trafficking, but this is the wrong approach. Edward says they did a raid at Food City, like the hard working (illegal) minimum wage employees there are going to be gang members smuggling drugs on the side. It's ridiculous.
The other thing I was shocked by is the US Census. They don't recognize Mexican American, or Hispanic as a race. They want you to choose instead from a list of race's such as Samoan, Polynesian, Caucasian, etc. Edward is none of those, so we marked other, and put Hispanic. They can do what they want with that.
Nancy, thank you for clarifying the position of many Arizonans. Very astute. I also agree with your title revision.
Interesting... very interesting.
Ha! That's the first time I've ever been called "astute"! Thanks ; ) I always have to research stuff before I respond to your political blogs. I'm glad to have such a smart friend =)
jen
this post is amazing
I wholeheartedly agree with your sentiment in this post and hope that Arizona has a change in approach when it comes to their "brown skins"
it is appalling to the rest of us...
thanks for having the courage to speak out
I'm afraid I couldn't disagree with you more Jen. I don't see the bill as racist. Illegal immigrants who are hard-working, law abiding citizens(despite the obvious immigration status)will not be affected by this, unless they break the law. This just gives the authorities the right to request papers from illegal immigrants who break the law. Jan Brewer, who signed the bill, happens to be my great aunt and I'm proud of her for having the courage to do something that was not the easy choice to make. She wants to protect the citizens of AZ and respond to their pleas for help because of the fear they have in the communities where they live. I can't believe that they didn't have the power to request their papers before. My family has very strong ties to Mexico and my aunt has close friends and work colleagues who are Mexicans that work for and support the bill, too. Guillermo has no need to fear, unless he plans on breaking the law.
Jaime, I know what it is to disagree with people who are passionate about certain political events or ideas and so my hat is off to you for having the courage to vocally (or textually) disagree. If my post offended you or your family, I apologize for that. I'm afraid I must continue opposing the bill even though I recognize that your aunt did what she did because the Federal government is NOT doing it's job. I also don't believe that 'they' didn't have power to request legal documents before now. Have we been deporting people all this time without requesting proof of their right to be in the country? I have a hard time believing that. All told, I hope a better solution to this problem presents itself very soon.
Hi Jen. My name is Carmen, I'm your cousin Alex's wife. I follow your and your siblings' blogs so I can recognize people at the family reunions:)I read this post days ago and it has been on my mind ever since. This is a complicated issue of which I can see both sides. I have two questions for you: How do you square this with the twelfth article of faith, "We believe. . . in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law."? and how would "Guillermo" answer the question "Are you honest in your dealings with your fellow men?" Not trying to be critical, just curious. Here I have to add that I've heard Grandma Bracken was unapologetic about drinking tea and got a temple recommend anyway:)
P.S. I wanted to name my first daughter Felicity but Alex didn't like it. P.P.S. Recently a boy was riding his bike through an intersection in a school zone and got hit by a car. He died, not from being hit but from cracking his unhelmeted head on the pavement. Just saying.
Hi Carmen! I appreciate your questions but I'm afraid I can only answer one somewhat satisfactorally : Discussing this issue from a gospel perspective is interesting. An experience from my mission-- candidates for baptism are required to have a baptismal interview and that interview includes a paraphrased version of the twelfth article of faith. Historically, illegal immigrants weren't allowed to be baptised due to their illegal status. Before my mission in California, however, this rule had been changed and it is now perfectly acceptable for illegal immigrants to be baptized in the church, despite their 'illegal' status. I found the Church's 'blurring' (if you will) of what it means to uphold the law in this matter was most...interesting.
I, too, see the complexities, but I also agree with the Church's public statement; that issues such as immigration should be dealt with in a spirit of "compassion and careful reflection", especially because it could so negatively affect so many of God's children. My official stance regarding SB 1070 is that it was NOT done with these two recommendations in mind, notwithstanding the vastness and complexity of the matter.
P.S. You are a good biker's wife ;) Derrick and I do have helmets that we wear when we go on rides, we decided not to wear them for our pictures though. Yours was a good reminder that we will keep in mind!
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