Last September, in the heat of the discussion around undocumented immigrants in the United States, my mind turned to a question. Reminiscent of Langston Hughes’ question, “What happens to a dream deferred?” I asked, “What happens to a dream denied?” The immigrants dubbed Dreamers were forced to face that question individually as the certainty of continued residency in the country they call home was stripped away.
In the uproar that followed the decision to bring the DACA program to an end, I wrote a message to my representatives. That message is below:
I’m a citizen of the United States. I had the advantage of being born here, but I recognize that I was fortunate in ways that are outside of my control. Similarly, Dreamers came to the U.S. by means that were outside of their control. From that time, they have learned, worked, and grown in this country in countless ways.As a result of the president’s recent decision, the futures of more than 800,000 lives are now in your hands. We are a country of immigrants. We cannot now turn our backs on those who arrived later than we did. I pray that you will act with empathy and reason to defend these individuals and their futures. We voted for you, now please vote for them.
And while I’m happy to have had made the choice to say something, I still feel frustrated. It’s been almost a year and the futures of thousands of individuals in our country are still up in the air. I’m trying to figure out what I can do to encourage a decision to be made sooner rather than later. One thing I can do, one thing that is always in my power, is to vote.
Midterm elections are taking place throughout the country this year and the people that we decide to represent us will have the power to push for changes and upgrades to the DACA program and to other immigration regulations in our country. It is often noted that midterm elections are more important than the Presidential election because the representatives we choose now will make decisions that directly affect us at the local level.
The arguments on both sides have been emotional. As we talk about the issues and push our government representatives to make decisions, we need to remember that we are discussing individuals with hopes, fears, dreams and a lifetime of memories in this country. Empathy and tact will lead us well in the months and years ahead.
Maya Just Writes 