Undocumented students on college campuses in College Station, Texas and beyond are coming forward publicly as part of a courageous push to see Congress take steps to legalize undocumented students.
This article in Saturday’s Houston Chronicle does a good job of expressing some of the emotions students experienced, as they stepped forward after years of hiding their undocumented status and, in turn, masking who they really are, their history and their heritage.
The experience was clearly an emotional one for the students, including some who were warned not to go public by their parents and other family members. Jose Zelaya, a native of Honduras, is shown crying as he identifies himself publicly as an illegal immigrant.
As the Houston Chronicle reported, the students who came forward had shared themes. Even while being highly successful academically, they faced uncertain futures, unsure of where they might be able to secure jobs or even if they and their families will be able to remain in the U.S. Several of the students said they have gone without seeing their mothers or fathers because they have been deported or otherwise unable to get to the U.S.
The speakers' stories had common themes: Despite their academic achievements, their futures were uncertain. Many were torn by having families in two countries. Some talked of having their dads deported or going for years without seeing their mothers.
Whatever your position on illegal immigration and how it should best be addressed, the demonstrations being staged by undocumented students make a powerful point: That putting a face on complex, divisive social and political issues is important.
We know that it is easy to demonize people or groups that we do not know or understand. The protests of these students give us new insights, and help us to understand that the issue of undocumented students is complex and that the lives of students and families hang in the balance.
At one point at the College Station protest, the aspiring teacher, Zelaya, asked, “Can you understand what it means to be undocumented?”
Zelaya clearly contributed to that understanding.
And in doing so, he may just have helped us, as a society, to begin to address immigration in ways that are more ethical and just.
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