By Emira Palacios, National People's Action Co-chairperson
 About
three months ago my whole world fell apart as my family was threatened
to be torn apart.
Both my husband and I were born and raised in Mexico. Individually,
we both crossed the border into the United States to find lives
free of oppression and open to new opportunities. After a few years
in the country and meeting my husband, I passed my high school equivalency
test and my future was bright. My husband was also able to find
a job that cemented security for our family.
We also became integral members in our community in Wichita, KS
becoming actively involved in the church, our children's education
and with different community organizations. Soon after we were married
and started to raise our family, we began to fight for our residency
so we no longer had to bare the stigma of being “undocumented.”
We wanted the same legal rights as others who pay their taxes, send
their children to school and put effort into improving their communities.
For the past seven years, we have battled through the Immigration
and Naturalization Service’s maze of regulations and bureaucratic
blunders. We paid thousands of dollars in fees. We traveled far
and wide to every meeting, every court appointment and have followed
every rule. Three and a half years ago, I gained my residency. My
husband was denied.
And so we started the process over again. More fees, more lawyers,
more traveling to court appearances.
After all the work and effort we thought we had reached our goal
and my husband would be declared a legal resident.
In February we learned that not only was my husband denied residency,
he had actually been placed on the deportation list years ago without
our knowledge.
We had a decision to make. My husband would either have to leave
our family to go back to Mexico and be barred from coming to the
US for at least three years or he would have to go into hiding and
become a fugitive.
Faced with these two terrible choices, I felt useless and powerless.
While we worked through lawyers and pleaded our case to officials,
there was nothing I could do to stop the country from sending my
husband away.
Immediately after we learned the news, I was scheduled to attend
the National People’s Action Leadership Summit in Washington,
DC. My immediate reaction was to not go. But my husband convinced
me that we needed to keep living our lives. He told me that I must
continue to hold onto hope and have faith that things are going
to change no matter how hard and impossible they seem now.
When I went to the Leadership Summit I saw all the people who took
the time to leave their homes, their family and their jobs to join
together and fight for their communities. People who are fighting
to end predatory lending, to attain better job opportunities for
low-wage workers, to improve education for all children and to continue
to fight for immigrants’ rights. And while we were all fighting
for different things, our goal was the same – to improve the
lives of our families and to continue to strengthen our communities.
And I was reminded of the need for this fight, that others were
facing similar problems in our country and that without the work
of NPA, those people will continue to face these issues.
During those 24 hours on Capitol Hill, I used both my frustrations
and my hope as my fuel as I talked to legislators about the need
to change federal regulations to help immigrants in the United States.
With the combination of support I received from my husband and the
inspiration I received from my fellow leaders, I learned that fear
can be overcome and that power is something that is always within
us, even in the face of despair.
After I came back from DC, Sunflower Community Action, NPA and our
lawyer worked to keep my husband in the country. And despite all
odds, officials agreed that he could stay. He currently can’t
work and we have to start from scratch in winning residency for
him, but our children can sleep at night knowing that he is with
us. And to me, that is a miracle.
So at this year’s National People’s Action conference,
look around at the people who are facing problems in their lives
and their neighborhoods, the people who could be bowed by despair
and bowled over by fear, but instead are standing together and who
are willing to fight together. These are the people that inspired
me to keep fighting even during the worst of times, to keep winning
victories for my family and for my community.
Look around - because they will do the same
for you.
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