Today I helped our family friend Alvaro prepare his paperwork for President Obama’s “Deferred Action” for undocumented immigrants brought into the country as children. We sorted through transcripts, pay receipts, school ID cards, plus any other indication that he’d been continuously in the country for the past 5 years, and added these to a stack which was comprised of his high school diploma, his birth certificate, and his passport. He ran and had two photos taken to add to the packet he’ll be sending, and photocopied everything that couldn’t be sent in its original form. This process required reading carefully through a lengthy instruction manual, as well as filling out three separate forms that had questions that were confusing, at least in some parts. This was all coupled with the adrenaline that was surging with the prospect of what this could mean to Alvaro – a valid driver’s license, a chance to legally work – as long as we did it all right.
In between and around all of this, I had a study flow of students, many of whom are finishing drafts of their college essays. I would work with Alvaro, then give him instructions on what to do until I was finished with a student, then re-meet with him after that student was gone and before another student arrived. A rather exhausting process, all in all, full of focus, with the need to constantly shift from writing to paperwork.
But as one of my students said, “Len, you’re doing what we Jews call a mitzvah.” I knew a mitzvah meant “a good deed.”
I just hope we got all the answers right and in the correct place. Otherwise, the two years of “deferred action” may be up before his packet of materials is even gone through and corrected. Still, Alvaro was excited. All of this means new hope for him, and new possibilities. He might even get to take a trip to another state or out of the country.
It’s just a question now of waiting to see…
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