No matter where we were born or how we feel about controversial immigration enforcement bills like Arizona's SB 1070 or AB 87, surely can all agree that all people, including immigrants who lack the right paperwork, should not have their human and civil rights violated in this country.
We are -- or should be -- above treating newcomers as if they are invisible or less than, which is why MomsRising.org and other women's groups for social justice are in Georgia right now casting a spotlight on the stories of women who have had their civil rights violated due to AB 87.
These women include mothers separated from their children or their spouses; women who fear reporting domestic violence and other crimes against their humanity out of fear of deportation; women living in the shadows for fear of workplace and home raids by local police; racial profiling and division in their communities. These are women who like our parents, grandparents and ancestors came to America's shores for a better life for their children and are working hard to make it. The delegates in Georgia have heard from mothers with toddlers in arms to the U.S.-born college students of undocumented mothers.
Wendy Cervantes, a delegate representing the organization First Focus, had this to say about it:
When I think of their stories, I’m reminded of my mother. Because of the extreme poverty in her hometown, she was forced to drop out of school at the age of thirteen in order to work and help my widowed grandmother support the family. She vowed that her own children would have the opportunity to finish their education. She eventually moved to Indiana from Mexico in her late teens as a nanny, and after my parents were married they decided to make the U.S. their permanent home and raise their family here. My mother continues to be a domestic worker today, and she is by far the smartest, strongest, and most determined woman I know. Thanks to the many sacrifices she and my father made, my sister and I both grew up believing we could be whatever we wanted to be, and we both obtained college degrees. It’s also because of their sacrifices that I’ve become the passionate advocate I am today for immigrant families. Just like my parents, today’s immigrants simply want a better life for their children.
Our Vice President at MomsRising, Mary Olivella, who was born and raised in Panama and came to the United States as a college student, had this to say:
In Atlanta I hope to help raise the voices of countless women who have been marginalized and silenced in the name of immigration law enforcement. I also hope to learn how we can do more to bring about positive changes that will help our country as a whole.
Throughout our country there are many divergent opinions on how our immigration policies should be revised. But surely most of us can agree to uphold a vision that all children and their mothers — in fact everyone standing within our nation’s boarders — should not be abused nor suffer from human rights violations. This, our common humanity, needs to be our guiding vision. However difficult, we must work to advance cool-headed, fair-minded approaches to our immigration issues.
Making mothers and children suffer cannot be part of the answer.
There is a press conference this morning in Atlanta with the delegates and undocumented mothers who have bravely stepped out of the shadows. Even if you are not in Atlanta, you can show your solidarity with the immigrant families and their advocates by checking out this blog carnival by all the delegates. Peruse the stories, leave a comment or two in support and tweet out to your family and friends.
Many thanks all!