GenY on D&I: Invisible Immigrants

As of today, more than 2000 immigrant children are still detained after having been separated from their parents at the US-Mexico border. Along with the rest of the country, I have seen the photos of children in cages and heard the audio of children in tears. Many facts remain unclear due to the restricted coverage of certain detainment centers and a lack of transparency around what is actually being done (beyond a hastily written plan) to not only reunify families but to prevent them from falling through the cracks of a carelessly constructed system.

At this point, it almost feels futile to talk about my shock or disbelief. The mistreatment and exploitation, not to mention the politicization, otherization, and lack of empathy towards undocumented immigrants and similarly vulnerable populations in this country is nothing new. The grim prospect of our country is that we are increasingly unable to connect with one another. Our differences create barriers made of mangled glass, so that when we look across, we see distorted reflections of people that we hardly recognize as similar to ourselves. We cannot, we must not, lose our ability to relate to one another as human beings.

I am a child of immigrant parents. When hard times fell, they packed our lives into a few large suitcases and made the journey to the United States, just as so many families have before us. My mom came first with my sister and me, and my dad joined a few years later. They, too, took measures of sacrifice and separation for the hope of a better life for their children. Fundamentally, what makes my family any different from the families that are now detained and separated? Everyone wants the best for their children and for their families. No matter your political leanings, no matter your views on immigration – how can the forced separation of families be justified? How can the detaining of whole families be justified?

I am afraid of this story being buried into obscurity by next week’s headlines. The New Yorker wrote, “When vulnerable populations are kept hidden, or are forced into hiding—which is the daily reality of so many of the undocumented in Trump’s America—they not only live in the shadows; they become slowly erased. At the moment, everyone seems to be paying attention. But these families and children, and others who find themselves in the crosshairs of this Administration’s draconian immigration policies, will still need us to keep paying attention, even when the media coverage wanes…”

We must continue to pay attention. We cannot forget the people behind the headlines. Please consider donating to the following organizations who are working diligently to welcome migrants and to keep them safe:

Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley: Build a Home for Newly Arrived Migrant Families at the Texas Border

RAICES– Non-profit legal firm working to reunite families

For more on what you can do, see last week’s post in The Buzz.