A Letter Protesting an Injustice - Essay Example

Dear Mr. President: My life’s miseries have grown to heights beyond patience and endurance leaving me with no other choice but to express my sorrow and protest for the injustices that the immigrants in this land of the free have suffered in recent years. The recent turn of events, left immigrants like me in fear for the series of atrocities, crimes, and violence committed in the name of the law against non-citizens, non-natives, non-Americans who are suspected of being illegal migrants. It is horribly unbelievable how a country that abhor terrorism has allowed and tolerated the indiscriminate use of terror to ward off unwanted and defenseless residents, women and children alike, from a land conceived as a defender and a refuge of the oppressed. Back home, in a poor country in the south where I came from, life in America is everyone’s dream. It seems to be the only passport to a better and a more comfortable life. It seems to be the only place that holds the promise of a secure future, and the way out of poverty. I can still remember how my parents and the other elders in the family implanted in me the vision of living a prosperous life in America and set before me the mission to finish my studies and work in America. Later I discovered that the vision and mission America is not only for me, it is a common direction shared by most families hopeful of a good future for the entire family. Getting here was not easy, and for many of us who have been working here for years, reaching America cost our families some fortune, some relationships, some life. There are those who sell properties or parcel of land to finance travel expenses and the cost of living here while looking for an employer. There are those who left behind aging parents, spouses, young children, and siblings. There are those who risked their lives crossing borders in search of an asylum and escape from oppression or slavery. Most are wishfully hoping that after a time, with the green card or with favorable circumstances, all would be reunited and lived a good life in the land of the free. Some dreams fortunately came true but not for all that I have come to know. There is this dark side of couples and families separated for quite a long time. Such long separation created a vacuum, an emotional void making one vulnerable to temptation, to infidelity, and thus breaking up what used to be a strong and happy family. As this happened, the children suffer, and left behind to fend for themselves. The long period of separation disintegrated the family, the very basic unit of society. The hope of a bright future and the American dream suddenly turned to doom. Without the parents to nurture and guide them to the right path, it’s not surprising to hear reports of these children becoming delinquents, immoral, drug addicts and even hardened criminals. I can empathize on how a fellow migrant worker must have felt when his wife and daughters were brutally murdered by a gang inside the family’s residence while he was far away from them. He could have protected his family from the harm, but he could not. Incidence like this kept migrant husbands and fathers, anxious of the safety and welfare of the families separated from them by circumstances. Each of us migrant has a story to tell. Most of these stories though, are far from fairy tales, far from the promise and from the hope of a better life for us and for our families. More so after the September 11 terrorists attack, life in America for immigrants like me, took a sudden twists. After that ruthless act of terrorism that killed thousands of great men and women, we, the immigrants, had to face an era of fear and insecurities for our lives and that of our families. Much to our frustration, for the terrorists’ criminal act on American soil, the immigrants became the target of close scrutiny and a wave of strict immigrant policing unfolded. Terrorism is a criminal act, and it is imperative that the government should by all means protect and secure its people against it. I applauded the United States for taking tight security measures to safeguard the land and prosecute terrorists. The migrant community embraced the government’s move to fight terrorism and seal the land from the entry of suspected terrorists. The fact is that, the migrant people is not immune to terrorists’ attacks and is one with the US government in this fight against terrorism. For this and for economic reasons, I could understand why there is a need for the implementation of stricter immigration laws and policies in the United States. But in the process of wielding power on illegal migrants, the legal immigrants are also severely affected, and also suffered injustices from the collaboration of local police officers and the officers of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). I believed that terrorism can’t be won by another act of terror, and that something that is deemed illegal can’t be made legal by social injustice and discrimination. The report entitled “Injustice for All” documented various incidence of maltreatment suffered not only by illegal migrants but also by those who have the necessary papers. The report stated that the immigration policing have contributed to a “hateful, intolerant and dangerous environment” and that human right violations and physical abuse against immigrants has somehow become a norm (www.nnirr.org/hurricane/Injustice_for_All.pdf · PDF file). According to the report that the human rights abuses inflicted on immigrants showed proof of racial, religious, and social discrimination. These immigrants or perceived immigrants (black or colored race) are arbitrarily arrested while driving or traveling with their families. Officers check into residences and workplaces and arrest undocumented immigrants. Without due process, some of those arrested are deported and forcefully separated from their immediate families. Prison condition is grossly inhumane and some migrant prisoners die while being help in prison. The report also mentioned that some women prisoners are being sexually abuse by guards and officers. Truly the immigration enforcement has created an anti-immigrant spirit not only in affluent US communities but strangely in some youth as cited in the report, attacking to death perceived immigrants. The fear of getting imprisoned and deported have prompted tolerance of domestic violence, sexual assault, and unfair labor practices, most vulnerable are the women. Mr. President, we have suffered more than what we could bear, the fate of these migrants and in your hand. You have in your hand the power to undo the crimes and violence inflicted on the immigrants who come here for the freedom to enjoy God’s gift of abundance and democracy that is in your land, the United States of America. Please respect and uphold the UN International Convention for the protection of the rights of migrant workers and their families and so with the UN declaration on the rights of indigenous people. Mr. President, coming to your land undocumented to seek asylum and refuge from poverty, and to pursue dreams of living a better life for us and our families, is not in itself a crime as loathsome as terrorism. Please allow these migrant people the chance to blend into the social fabric of your land by creating opportunities to become legal residents or citizens. Please look into the good deeds and the positive contribution of those who deserve the American dream. Sincerely, Obiageli Ufondo Reference: 1. Injustice for All by the national network for immigrant and refugee rights, Produced by HURRICANE: The Human Rights Immigrant Community Action Network An initiative of the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR)www.nnirr.org/hurricane/Injustice_for_All.pdf · PDF file Read More