Crime in Immigration
I think one of the main points of Garcia-Hernandez’s that stood out the most was the innate disparity implemented between a child born in the United States and a child brought over. Both have no control over their existence, no understanding of crime, no sense of politics, and no voice of their own. Yet, children of and who are immigrants face a dilemma of not belonging to or not being wanted by a country. Garcia-Hernandez exemplifies the experience of a boy, Diego Rivera Osorio, who had spent most of all of his life behind bars in a detention center at just 3 years old.
The author also talks about Jerry who was brought to the US at just 8 months old. He became a permanent resident in his time, yet not a citizen. In his time, he joined the US army and fought in Iraq. He suffered from PTSD after a bomb killed several of his friends and upon returning to the US received a Purple Heart, but also turned to drugs because of the trauma. Once he was caught with possession, he was put into a special state-run rehab program especially meant for veteran and he attended each meeting until one day when his friends, family, and lawyer had no idea where he was. He had been arrested by ICE and put into a detention center without any of this knowledge being passed to his judge or lawyer. A man who proudly fought for his country and stood by the flag and all that it represented was in the end betrayed by all he defended. His crime of possession was a direct result for the trauma that ensued from his combat and for that he was ultimately punished. There was no double standard, he was ultimately belittled to two words, illegal and criminal.
Another story that really stood out to me was of a father named Francisco. He, like any other father, was dedicated to his children, frequently driving hours just to see them in another state as they were living with their mother. However, one day he was pulled over for a busted tail light and ultimately arrested for a decade old deportation in his record, violating the law of reentry. He had been caught for mistakenly allowing his garage to be used for a meth lab, detained for 4 years and deported, despite being in the country for over 37 years. He came back for his family. He was convicted for reentry, sentenced to 2 years, then deported again. His entire life will be spent without his family. Francisco will not get to see his children or grandchildren grow up. He will not be able to celebrate their birthdays and graduations. For his whole life, he will be punished, as well as his family.
These stories are extremely touching because these are real people, not just statistics. Especially when it concerns family, I feel like the majority of people should be able to sympathize, yet we still have these policies in place to separate families and ruin their lives. We must build our critical consciousness of the way these structures were created and the myths that perpetuate them because real lives are at stake here. Because it might not directly affect me or my immediate family, how can we blindly and idly stand by while these inhumane acts are lawful and accepted in society and by our leaders.
My own story of immigration really impacts my life. In the midst of the Vietnam war, there was a lot of violence in Laos as well. My dad lived in the countryside with his father and brothers. He had a very difficult life; losing his mother at 10 years old, soon losing his baby brother, and ultimately suffering abuse at the hands of his father and being forced out of school when he was in third grade. He endured a lot, which made him strong, but also showed him what he was capable of handling. At 16, communists took over Laos. He was forced into labor camps to build a dam for two months. Fearful of camp cruelty and intensive labor, he decided to leave. He discussed it over and over again with his grandparents for months as they did not want him to take the risk. However, one hot summer day, he made his final decision and did all of his chores and filled his grandparents’ reserve with water from the river. As he ate dinner with his grandparents and aunt that night, he revealed he would leave at midnight. He left, giving his grandmother his only pair of sandals. Eventually, he was able to make it to a Thai refugee camp and worked until the opportunity came where he could leave to create a new life in the United States. At the age of 18, he arrived in the US with only $5 in his pocket. To this day, I am still astonished by and proud of my father. He has become a successful businessman and implemented his own beliefs and work ethic into his children.
I attended the Canal Alliance Context lecture and was astounded by the facts given to me. With Marin County being the fifth richest county in the entire United States, there is so much wealth and racial disparity. The Canal district was originally meant to provide low-income housing for college students or recent college graduates, not families. However, with the events of the Vietnam War and Central American civil wars, there were huge waves of families migrating, looking for low-income housing, throughout the 1960s and 1980s. The human development index difference between the Canal today and Ross, a district only a few miles away, is truly shocking. With 90% of white residents, Ross has a longer life expectancy, 4 out of 5 have a bachelor’s degree, and the average income earned is $64,000. Meanwhile in the Canal, with a 76% Latino population, there is a shorter life expectancy, less than half have a high school diploma, and there is an average earning of $21,000. These differences are clear, but the fixes don’t seem to be. And because of policymakers’ indecisiveness, people are at a disadvantage. A story of dehumanization comes from my own. My father, with his own electrical business, has worked in a retirement community for over 25 years. Yet, residents still fear him and think him a thief. One woman even filed a police report against him. Though he seems unbothered, it makes his job harder and he always has to be doing everything to the best of his ability. When a customer calls to complain that something wasn’t done properly, he is disheartened because he wants credibility and the ability to have a livelihood without the dehumanization. Another story I heard from a student at the lecture, was that people will speak Spanish to him and be surprised when he speaks perfect English. I think this is a very common case that occurs and it’s very rude, even though some might think that they’re doing the other a favor of speaking their “native” language.
