It’s “undocumented” immigrant, not “illegal.” As a classmate of mine justly said recently, people can’t be illegal. So I would greatly appreciate it if from now on, we used the term undocumented immigrant when discussing immigration.

I understand that you are frustrated that undocumented immigrants are “taking your jobs,” but the reality is that they are doing the jobs that you will not. I take personal offense to your ignorant and generalizing comments when you say things like this. Although most of my family was able to come to the United States many years ago with visas, today immigration policies make it much more difficult to do so. I have some family members who are undocumented and have already lifted more fingers than you probably ever will. As the ACLU purports, the fact is that immigrants actually have a positive effect on the American economy.

And you think that immigrants should not even bother to be here if they are not making the effort to learn English? First of all, language has nothing to do with the amount that these individuals give back to this country. In actuality, immigrants do believe they need to learn English so that they can make it in the United States, yet sometimes it is not that simple. Latino immigrants specifically assert that they know they need to learn English, and even realize that they may be discriminated against if they don’t. Also, even though many immigrants do want to learn English, as a friend of mine logically pointed out, sometimes these resources are not necessarily available, such as workshops and classes funded by say the government. Let’s not forget one of the many positive attributes of speaking a different language in this diverse country, because were it not for my own Latin heritage, I would have never learned Spanish and been able to assist in bridging the gap between different communities in the U.S.

Weren’t your ancestors immigrants themselves once? And did they not come over with a primary language of their own? Did their simple motivation of having a better life threaten to take jobs away from others? Perhaps, but it seems to me that you are not acknowledging the similarities between immigrants today and immigrants from just a century prior.

It’s not that I’m blind to the validity of some of your points, however far-fetched they may be, but in order to embark on this discussion over immigration, you need to stop making sweeping generalizations. In addition, you need to start looking at outside forces that come into play, such as why these immigrants are coming into the U.S. in the first place. As to what is true versus misconceptions surrounding immigration, the list goes on and on.  I urge you to peruse this link in which the ACLU discusses Immigration Myths and Facts.

Thank you.

Melissa Beatriz Skolnick is currently a graduate student attaining her Master’s in Social Work in Philadelphia. She strives to merge social work and journalism together in order to bring more awareness to various underrepresented communities, as well as to bring light to societal inconsistencies. In addition, she hopes to one day impact society through endeavors such as policy-making, writing through a widespread medium, and speaking to those who are willing to listen.

Sanchez, D-Santa Ana, said Obama’s promise to work with faith-based groups will be important to educate the public.

“That is where he really can make this an important, grass-roots base issue in many members’ districts. Maybe not this year, next year or the following year. But he’s working on it and that’s a positive thing.”

I have been rather leery of any talk about immigration reform in the context of a time line because midterm elections are approaching, but Sanchez came right out and said “maybe not this year, next year or the following year.”

She also talked about the need to educate people about immigration, which is something that our policymakers should be doing, along with their allies. However, I don’t see Congresswoman Sanchez picking up the immigration torch and running with it. It was Congressman Luis Gutierrez who spearheaded the Familia Unidas tour visiting US cities around the country talking about the need for comprehensive immigration reform. And of course, as Gustavo Arellano has diligently reminded us, it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that Congresswoman Sanchez finally decided to become a co-sponsor of the DREAM Act.

I think that Congresswoman Sanchez’s comment is fair, but I also sense that she isn’t fighting hard for and/or effectively making the case for comprehensive immigration reform very clearly. Could it be that Congresswoman Sanchez is firmly in the “enforcement camp”? I quickly scanned her top contributors for this election cycle, and Cogent Systems is ranked second in contributions for Loretta Sanchez. Cogent makes identification solutions, including the kind with finger prints. Hello biometric ID card! For those of you who don’t know about the biometric ID card proposals, just have a gander here. The ACLU, along with other privacy rights organizations, opposes such an ID card, and I could easily see a database of biometric information being abused.

With the hyped up nationalism, border hysteria, and the continued connotation of Latinos with undocumented immigrants, it should come as no surprise that ICE improperly removed Pedro Guzman, a US citizen, from the L.A. County Jail System. One would think that when they process an inmate that they run their identification number in the system or determine both a DOB and a place of birth just to make sure that they have the “right person.” And I would also think that the bureaucrats would be extra careful with Mr. Guzman since he is developmentally disabled. Mr. Guzman has been missing since May 11, and his family members have taken great lengths to look for him. They discovered that he had been deported after he called them from Tijuana indicating that he was confused and unsure why he was taken there.

The ACLU is taking this case and has criticized the feds for using racial profiling. I often wonder what the criteria is for determining whether someone is illegal. People should carry some sort of identification at all times, but if you only have a drivers license or some other picture ID that does not indicate your citizenship status, how exactly do you prove that you have a right to be in the US? Also, I assume that if you are jailed, you aren’t going to have any documents on you. It seems Mr. Guzman was taken for a ride simply because he was the same color as many of the other immigrants. Deported for being brown.

I sometimes contemplate what the experience of recent immigrants, both undocumented and documented, would be like if they rode around in nicer cars, dressed in nicer threads, and basically tried to blend in a little better because the criteria for determining one’s status doesn’t seem to be the same for everyone. Pedro Guzman speaks English, but so do many immigrants who come here for various reasons. Does law enforcement have some sort of illegal immigration radar that the rest of us don’t have? The officials dumped Mr. Guzman without checking his records, which leads me to the believe that they simply lumped him with the other undocumented people because he shared similar physical features. I think that we are going to hear of more instances like this one, and hopefully the ACLU and other civil rights organizations will continue to fight for answers and justice. US citizens come in all colors, as do immigrants, legal or otherwise. I just hope that my family and friends get the memo outlining what an undocumented person looks likes so we can all be aware.