I just got back from a community meeting concerning the ICE raids that happened in New Bedford, Massachusetts this week. These raids are shocking because they happen just as Congress is about to debate a compassionate immigration reform. This raid was also tragic because it targeted a workplace that mainly employed women which put hundreds of children at risk.
I would like to personally ask for your help.
My personal plea
I share the urgency of the progressive community of stopping the war, and of holding the current administration in check. However, the immigration issue is also an important human story that impacts many of us in a very personal way.
Some years ago, I met and married a wonderful woman. I have two great step-kids (who I love dearly) and a new daughter (who I also love dearly). My wife, and two of my kids are undocumented. Because they have been in the US for too many years (which seems backwards to me) several lawyers have now told us to wait because it is not worth the risk with the current laws.
This makes us a mixed-status family. I can tell you that my family is wonderful, but we are a family in limbo... there is always the risk that I may be forced to choose between family and country.
I share this to say the people caught up in the immigration crisis should not be brushed away as "illegal". We are real people with real families.
The Current Crisis
You can read in the news that 350 suspected "illegal" immigrants were caught, and the press statements from the ICE about how they caught immoral employers (as if they were doing the employees a favor) who I believe are now out on bail.
The crisis is that these vulnerable workers have not only been stripped away from children and families, most of them have already been flown to Texas... out of reach of community and support. This even increases the difficulty of providing legal and social support.
Also heartbreaking is the fact that young kids, being unable to understand why their parents have disappeared, are being placed in state custody and foster care.
Please help
The immigrant rights community needs public support.
At the community meeting, several goals were identified.
- Get ICE to stop these politically-motivated raids that target workers far more harshly than the employers.
- Bring the New Bedford women back to Massachusetts from Texas so they can reunite with families and receive the community and legal support they need.
- Get congress to pass a compassionate immigration reform bill quickly.
What you can do
A political organizer at the meeting pointed out that members of Congress receive calls from Nativists much more than from people who support immigrant rights-- "1000 to 1". I have faith that this does not reflect America at large, but we need more Americans to stand up for compassion.
These raids are ramping up as the politics of the day are driving them. We need your call and your public support.
Please contact your local congress people today. Tell them you are against the unecessary tragedy caused by the ICE raids and that you support compassionate immigration reform.
The immigrant rights community is also in need of money to provide both relief services to families left behind, and legal services for the immigrants caught up. The Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition is organizing the relief effort and can direct you.
Finally, this is a political struggle that can be won this year. Congress is about to introduce bills that will help immigrants legalize their status. The immigrants rights movement is organizing, and your support through joining rallies to writing LTEs will help
On behalf of many families caught in the current immigrantion limbo, thank you.