01/29/2025
This past week, I have been inundated with phone calls, emails, and text messages from my immigration clients. I cannot even imagine the frustration, anxiety, fear, and utter despair that they are feeling right now. I have clients who are afraid to leave their house, go to work, seek medical care, or even send their children to school. This is no way to live for anyone, especially not in this country. The United States of America is known as the Land of Opportunity because it offers a variety of opportunities for people to pursue their dreams. It is the very fabric that this nation was built upon. For the first time in my life, in what I have seen and heard in these last two weeks, it has felt like this notion has faded. I am the daughter of two immigrant parents who came to the U.S. from Guatemala in the late 1960’s. They both worked extremely hard to raise me and my two siblings. It took them years to acquire legal permanent residency and then U.S. citizenship. But I can only think what if when my parents first came to the U.S., they had to endure precisely what is going on right now? I am who I am today, and would not be where I am today, if not for their perseverance, dedication, and courage to seek a better and safer life not just for them, but for their children. Many of the people who are being detained/deported are not felons or criminals. They are people you see every day, hardworking people with families and zero criminal history. It is people like your next door neighbor, a kid in class who sits next to your child, a friendly landscaper, or the housekeeper who helps take care of your children, the list is endless. We are living through very hard times right now, but no matter how hard they get, I will continue to fight the best that I can and remain hopeful that a true solution to this problem comes to fruition.
