I was eating lunch at a Chili’s in McKinney, Texas today when over my husband’s shoulder I saw President Obama’s face appear on the television screen mounted on the wall. The caption read: Obama moves on Dream Act. I tried to read the rest but the waitress came with our check and when I looked back up, the news had moved on to something else.
As we were walking out I said to my husband, “But if Obama is just presenting this again to Congress, you know it will go nowhere.”
When we got home, Ray looked it up online and said, “It looks as if this will allow kids who were brought to the country illegally and have been here at least five years to get work permits for at least two years and also not to be deported.”
“But is this just another proposal to Congress?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he said.
Just then Alvaro texted me, “Did you hear the news?” Alvaro, our beloved family friend, who was born in Mexico but who has lived in the U.S. since he was seven, and is one of those 800,000 young people who have been caught in this immigration Catch -22. A star athlete in high school in baseball and basketball, he has been studying at LA Trade Tech in a two-year program to become an industrial electrician. All with the constant fear that he could be deported at any moment back to a country where he hasn’t lived since he was a little boy. He refers to his illegal status as his “situation,” and has said over and over, “I’m just going to keep my chin up and keep moving ahead. Surely one of these days, the Dream Act will pass and everything will change.”
I couldn’t respond to Alvaro’s text until I looked up the news report and ascertained Obama’s actions did not require Congressional approval. I skimmed through the article until my eyes fell on those words that would make all the difference: Executive Order.
I wrote Alvaro back. “I am so happy for you. Hurray! I have tears in my eyes as I am writing this.”
His response, “I guess I wasn’t the only one who leaked a tear. LOL. I am so happy.”
I realize we have many issues in our country that are controversial, but penalizing young people who have lived here for years and who are hard-working and law-abiding is not one of them. We are a nation of immigrants. We need to treat each other in a just and right manner. Today, President Obama’s actions will change one very fine boy’s life forever, as well as many others just like him. I could not be more pleased or proud.
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