I woke up at 3:30 yesterday morning to catch a flight to Birmingham, Alabama. Although I had gotten about 4 hours of sleep, I was full of energy as I prepared to travel with the We Belong Together Women's Human Rights Delegation to Alabama. I have decided to make this journey along with incredible women leaders from across the U.S. to bear witness to how Alabama's anti-immigrant law (HB 56) is affecting women, children, and their families.
The National Immigration Law Center has been co-leading litigation efforts challenging anti-immigrant laws in Arizona, Utah, Indiana, Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama. We have successfully blocked implementation of the worst provisions of those laws except for in Alabama -- the most pernicious of all the anti-immigrant measures attempted by state legislatures.
For more than 5 months, we have been painstakingly answering calls from the emergency hotline the legal team set up immediately after the U.S. District Court allowed most of this inhumane law to go into effect. The initial loss in Alabama was a big blow not just to us as lawyers, but to all Alabamians and those of us who believe in fairness and equality for all.
HB 56 has set off a humanitarian and economic crisis.
That first weekend following the court's woeful decision to allow most of the law to go forward, we got over 1,200 calls. The first hotline call I took that weekend was from a woman I will call Esperanza. She had heard about the judge's decision and was calling to learn more about this new immigration law. The fear in Esperanza's voice was palpable. I asked more questions and learned that Esperanza had a newborn child and her husband was working out of state.
Esperanza's voice cracked as she told me that since the court's decision came down, she noticed a car with several men stopping in front of her home at about 1:30 a.m. As Esperanza breastfed her newborn, she noticed these men peering into her home. She lived in a rural area among mostly white families, and didn't know any of her neighbors. She was isolated and petrified. As she told her story, images of the worst of our nation's history flashed through my mind: burning crosses, bombings, lynchings...
As Esperanza asked what I thought she could do, I found myself paralyzed. Esperanza asked if she could call the police. A chill went through my spine as the lawyer in me carefully answered that I did not think that was safe under HB 56. Instead, I suggested Esperanza find someone from her church who she could stay with temporarily. I found myself explaining to Esperanza that if things got worse, she should call the FBI, though I still wondered to myself if even that was safe. I ended up referring Esperanza to some local community-based organizations that I thought could help her.
I barely slept that night thinking of Esperanza and all the women in Alabama, their families and community members who are now being terrorized by this new irrational law. I called Esperanza back first thing in the morning to make sure she was OK. Fortunately Esperanza was safe and had found people who opened their home to her while she waited for her husband to come back to Alabama.
Today, on my way to Birmingham, I can't help but think of Esperanza, her child, and her family. I can't help but think of my own immigrant family and how my parents would have fared under such a hateful law. I sincerely hope Esperanza's family has been reunited. My hope is that our delegation will be able to expose the pain and suffering that women like Esperanza have had to endure, while also celebrating the strength and resilience of women and families who are fighting back against this injustice.
I trust that HB 56 will soon be held unconstitutional and that it will be remembered as another shameful blemish in our history. Until then, I am honored to join women leaders to bear witness to the fight for human rights in Alabama.
Too much to ask for?
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis
It contains all the forms and information she will need to LEGALLY apply for citizenship within the United States.
Me too! Back in their own country!
I'm delighted to hear that these laws are instilling fear as that is the desired result of sufficient messaging and enforcement to make lawbreakers take them seriously.
How come these poor Americans rate lower on the "most pernicious of all" scale for this author than do people living in the USA illegally? How do we think that those poor rejected Americans must feel as they find out that the people who illegally took jobs they could have had are being protected by groups that claim to care about the disadvantaged? How do we think they must feel as the symbols of their fight for equality are co-opted and used in an attempt to protect the continued breaking of our law against working illegally in the USA? Work they could be doing but for the consistent efforts to sabotage enforcement of our Federal Immigration Law.
"Alabama's HB 56, affects only illegal Latinos, not U.S. Citizen Latinos"
Can i call the police and tell them somebody stole my drugs and have no fear of police?
I'm sorry, but don't you WANT people in violation of a law to worry that they might get caught? The alternative is people thinking they can violate law with impunity.
"I found myself explaining to Esperanza that if things got worse, she should call the FBI, though I still wondered to myself if even that was safe."
Could you please explain why you think calling the FBI would be unsafe? I'm baffled.
Dave Gorak
Executive director
Midwest Coalition to Reduce Immigration
There is a very easy way for Esperanza to ease her fears. It is go back to Mexico. I thought lawyers were required to have an at least basic understanding of the law. Why should Esperanza not have to follow the legal procedure to come to the US like legal immigrants do?
Black people in Mexico have their own fear from racism from their Mexican countryman.
The black descendants of slaves in Mexico struggle against entrenched racism.
http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/places/alexis-okeowo/black-mexicans
Criminals should fear calling the police, that's how it works. And it's going to get worst.