If you see me, you will undoubtedly know my origins hail from Africa. You will not know my personal history or struggles. However, years before the internet, reality TV and Amazon Prime, I was living my own tragic story. I was brought to a place to begin anew at a very young age. At the time, I desired a new path for my life. I was a young boy without ties to a community, a family, or a network. I knew the future was bright for me, if I was willing to try. Even at that age, I was aware of the land of opportunity, and I refused to be chained to a path of poverty, drug abuse, and violence.
What I did not comprehend was the support I would receive from everyday people who for many years assisted me on my journey to where I now stand today. Thanks to them, I did not have to bear a stamp on my chest proclaiming “destined for poverty” for the rest of my life.
Today, I live in a vibrant community with great schools, research universities, and thriving companies. I am drawn to diverse areas of my city and I am sure it is due to my family’s Mexican heritage and their constant encouragement to me to try new things. My job is rewarding and I work in a field that requires that I understand the difference between H-1b visas and green cards. Today, I recruit people from around the world to join our team to engage in research that will help us all have better conversations via Siri and Alexa and provide us with the best recommendations for YouTube and Netflix videos. I interact with people around the world on a daily basis. Each one of those individuals has a unique history and has experienced challenges just like you and I and they still have risen to the top of their fields. Many of these researchers, technologists, and entrepreneurs greatly enjoy the environment here in the United States and our various communities. After living in the U.S. for a couple of years, many of these folks apply for green card status so that they may declare a permanent residence here. This green card process is intense and takes a long period of time, mountains of paperwork, and costly legal fees. To put this in context, if you’ve applied for a mortgage recently, you know that the probing inherent in that process can require you to provide proof of every dollar earned and explanations for every receipt over the past three to six months (trust me, I just went through it). Now, consider the application process for a green card for which you need details going back many years and you can begin grasp the challenge of this procedure. Still, their love of this land does not stop there: they often go on to become full-fledged American citizens. One of my high school friend’s mother finally got her citizenship after having her green card for twenty years. I am always surprised and in awe of those that move away from their home towns, leaving behind their beloved families and communities in order to call our land, the United States of America, home.
Today, I heard about one of my Persian friends who has had a green card for over 15 years who recently has been denied entrance back into the U.S. Why? Because he wanted to leave Iran many years ago and come to the United States to live and work? I think he wanted to come to the U.S. to understand and attain freedom. I think he always wanted to return to his home country bearing some of the liberties that he found here. A couple of weeks ago he left to visit his aging parents back in Iran. So, now he can not come back to the United States of America because he has a green card? He has paid taxes, built companies, and proven himself to be an upstanding citizen. I thought that was what we wanted? I am not sure what this policy is try trying to prove. I have not heard from him in a couple of days. I will follow up this week. God only knows what this upcoming week will bring.
Next week are we going to kick a young girl out of this land because her parents came from Mexico or Honduras when she was three years old and now she is getting out of high school and the administration wants to send her back to a place she does not know? Are we so fearful that our land can’t make room for others? Or, are we fearful that they will take a fictitious job that we think belongs to us?
I remember when I had nothing, and people clothed me. I remember when I was hungry, and people fed me. I remember when I had no home, and they gave me shelter. That was not 1908, but 1988.
The President’s recent actions are wrong. I will not be silent while injustice is being done and willfully planned. I will not be silent when our government wants to kick children out of the country through no fault of their own.
For all of you hoping for the better nature of this president to surface while despite the reality of his words and deeds, may I remind you of Maya Angelou’s famous quote, “when people tell you who they are, believe them.”
Your silence is being recorded. I will not be silent.
I am sending a $1000.00 check to the American Civil Liberties Union today. Take note of the spelling — not simply the “ACLU”, but the American Civil Liberties Union. You know … the folks that fight for the rights of all of us, even those with whom I don’t agree. It’s time to be counted and heard.
