Documenting That Which is Undocumented: Yearning to Breathe Free

I started this blog for two reasons: 1) to provide commentary on recent immigration-related news and 2) to document my life as an undocumented immigrant. The latter is particularly important to me. There are days when the frustration of immigration limbo is too much for me to bear. Sometimes, I simply need a release. This blog provides a forum for me to do so.

With that said, I will be starting a new segment, "Documenting That Which is Undocumented," where I can wax philosophical on life as an undocumented immigrant. Here we go:

In just a few short days, I will have lived in the U.S. for 21 years. Ironically, my mother and I arrived in L.A. on the 4th of July. I've been chasing freedom ever since.

Freedom -- I know what it is, but I don't know what it feels like. Even if there is a way to truly know freedom as an undocumented immigrant, I only know it as fleeting. The funny thing is that the older I get, the further away from freedom I feel. I'm 25, but never have I felt more like a child than I do now. I'm a college graduate and one more year away from being a law school graduate. Still, I live in my parent's home, ask them for money even for the smallest of purchases, and now, as I recently lost my driving privileges, I depend on them to shuttle me around town. If I was 15 that would be fine, but not now. Not now.

To lament about how my status has robbed me of my freedom would be to magnify an emotion that should be stored away in the farthest reaches of my memory. However, the reality is that I can't fight the feeling on most days. It's frustratingly ubiquitous. And I'm running; chasing this amorphous concept of freedom that has been both so tantalizingly close and yet dismally far. Fighting and chasing, fighting and chasing...

I'm buoyed by my uncompromising faith and the hope that immigration reform will come soon and set me free. But sometimes -- actually a lot of times -- I have to exert too much emotional energy to find that faith and hope. I've prided myself in being emotionally strong, forced to be by the ways in which I've had to grow up faster than most. Yet concededly, I'm vulnerably weak. I'm a human being after all, and I just want to be free.

...

I recently heard a politician (I can't remember which one) speaking about Iran on the Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer. In speaking about how America must support Iranian protesters, he emphasized that freedom is the great cause of America and of all Americans. He's absolutely right. I couldn't help but think though about why the great cause of America is not being fought in America for those that aren't free. I know what the political answer is, but it's not the right answer.

We're human beings after all, and we just want to be free.

Wisconsin Redemption: In-State Tuition for Wisconsin Undocumented Students

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how the Wisconsin State Assembly passed on an opportunity to enact meaningful reform by stripping a proposal from the budget to grant undocumented immigrants driver's certificates. In that same action, the legislature also stripped a provision granting Wisconsin immigrant students in-state tuition. For whatever reason, be it their realization of the folly of their ways or their seduction by the added $$$ that would be pouring into the coffers of state schools, the Wisconsin SA reinstated the in-state tuition provision. In doing so, Wisconsin became the 11th state to grant in-state tuition to undocumented students.

This is certainly great news for Wisconsin DREAMies. I live in IL, where the State Assembly passed a similar in-state provision in 2003, so I understand what an enormous blessing this is for those students. There are many deserving students that will now have the opportunity to attend college, and to that, I raise my glass.

Finally, as an aside:

It is always wise to read the bill before making any premature judgments. To those critics who cry foul, here is the budget, which you can read for yourself. Hopefully, that will assuage any fears or frustrations that you all may have, although I doubt it will.

Yes, We Can. Now, Let's Do It!

Nobody doubts that President Obama supports immigration reform. When he did speak about immigration reform on his campaign trial (he didn't speak as much about immigration as he did other issues), he spoke of his dedication to passing comprehensive immigration reform; to passing legislation that W. couldn't. The problem, however, is that his carefully crafted and practically impotent rhetoric has remained largely unchanged and visibly tempered. He has made subtle changes, but those changes only signal the administration's trepidation in moving forward with immigration reform. Now, his goal is to "clarify the status" of the millions of undocumented immigrants in America. With all due respect, Mr. President, I don't think they need any clarification whatsoever; they know exactly what their status is.

The American public didn't elect President Obama to listen to his eloquent speeches or sound bites, nor did they elect him so that they could watch him incessantly like a Hollywood celebrity (well, reasonable and informed voters wouldn't have). No, they wanted change. They wanted action where there was inaction. And perhaps no other domestic issue in our political universe is in need of action than immigration. Our system is broken (pardon the cliche) and it simply needs to be fixed.

President Obama has an opportunity to do that in this potential watershed year. He is undoubtedly aware of the large support he garnered from Latino voters and the need of the Democratic Party to sustain that growing base. His action on immigration is absolutely imperative for his political survival, particularly in a debate that has turned largely and undeniably racial and cultural. The only question right now is whether he will indeed act by pressing legislators to produce for him a bill that addresses the great problems of our times. Carefully written and conservative speeches have their place, but immigration reform requires a more vocal and engaged leader.

President Obama must realize that the house is caving in, but there are very few that are willing to fix it. The lives of those that are deeply affected cannot wait any longer; they cannot wait until they are trapped beneath the rubble of a damaged immigration system. This issue transcends policy. It penetrates into the everyday lives of millions of people and affects them economically, socially and psychologically.

Can we fix the immigration problem? Yes, we can. Now, let's do it!

Coughing Up Points: The Failure of the Wisconsin State Senate to Enact Meaningful Reform

Today, Wisconsin Democrats (namely Tim Carpenter) committed a blunder of epic proportions. In football, the paradigmatic blunder is a fumble. Here however, what Carpenter did was tantamount to a player deliberately running the football in the opposite direction and scoring in his own end zone; he's purposely hurting his own state. Ouch.

Carpenter and other WI Democrats removed a provision in the state budget that would have created meaningful reform by allowing undocumented immigrants to attain driver's certificates. And while Carpenter just as appallingly removed an in-state tuition provision for undocumented students, this post focuses on the driving issue.

The argument against granting undocumented migrants the opportunity to drive has always baffled me. I've searched for a reason that isn't tinged with malice for why lawmakers would oppose granting driver's certificates to undocumented migrants. I really have. But alas, nothing has come to mind.

First, I thought about the oft-argued zero sum rationale for denying undocumented immigrants certain benefits (e.g. in-state tuition): that a benefit to an immigrant is a detriment to a U.S. citizen. But that just doesn't seem to make sense in this case. How would that argument go?

"By giving that lousy immigrant the opportunity to drive, you're taking away my ability to drive!"

You don't need to be a Rhodes Scholar to understand that such an argument is absolutely fallacious. So, if the zero sum rationale doesn't work here, what other reason(s) could Mr. Carpenter's large Latino constituency have for not wanting undocumented migrants to drive? (As Mr. Carpenter put it, it was his Latino constituency that was strongly opposed to the driving measures)

Perhaps the answer lies in Wisconsin history. Maybe Wisconsin has always refused to allow undocumented immigrants the opportunity to drive. No, that can't be it. Up until recently, Wisconsin allowed those without social security numbers (read undocumented immigrants) to apply for a Wisconsin driver's license; not a driving certificate, but an actual driver's license.

Might an environmental argument yield an answer? Perhaps it was the concern for the influx of cars on the road that would ostensibly accompany such a measure that led Mr. Carpenter and his fellow lawmakers to strike it from the budget. But that argumentation would also require denying driving privileges to the thousands of newly-minted teenage drivers that hit the road each year. Again, that's not a plausible answer.

Maybe I should just be resigned to the fact that Mr. Carpenter and his colleagues simply don't want "illegal" drivers on the road. Never mind the fact that it would strengthen state security by allowing state officials to know who is driving. For many undocumented immigrants (and for citizens for that matter), driving is a necessity. Never mind the fact that it would put money into the government coffers by creating mandatory fees for applicants. And about creating a situation that would encourage undocumented immigrant drivers with no car insurance to actually get car insurance? Well forget about that too.

Wisconsin failed to seize on the opportunity to enact meaningful reform. I hope Wisconsinians enjoy coughing up six points because that's what your running back, State Senator Tim Carpenter, just did.