Undocumented Immigrants Hope to Travel Home
Until last month, Ernestina Escamilla, an undocumented immigrant from Puebla, Mexico, hadn’t seen her two sons in twenty years. Both boys crossed the U.S.-Mexican border illegally to find better opportunities when they were teenagers. Escamilla stayed in Mexico. She is one of the many who are separated from their families by immigration laws.
“There is so much suffering for the families that can’t see their children,” Escamilla said in Spanish. “I want people to know that we are not criminals, we are good people looking for a better life.”
Mexicans represent the largest unauthorized immigrant group in the United States. As of 2012, 59 percent of the estimated 11.3 million undocumented immigrants here were from Mexico, according to the Migrant Policy Institute, and many of these are separated from their family. Many work in the United States and send money back home, hoping the rest of the family will follow. But travel and visits are often prevented by immigration laws.
In November of 2014, President Obama unveiled an executive action on immigration policy to address this heartbreak. The policy offers temporary legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants, allowing them to go home to visit family and then legally re-enter the United States.
However, in December of 2014, 26 states filed a lawsuit in the Southern District Court of Texas seeking to block the action, citing the high cost of issuing driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants as the reason. Andrew Hanes, the judge presiding over this case followed the suit in early 2015 by issuing a temporary injunction blocking President Obama’s program. Today, the disagreement between the judiciary and the federal government continues, leaving many undocumented immigrants in limbo.
Camilo Perez-Bustillo, a human rights lawyer and activist who works to raise awareness about the rights of undocumented immigrants said that many people in Mexico are forced to migrate because of the drug war and government corruption. When these immigrants come to the United States, they are not recognized by the legal system. They have the right to a dignified life and that includes being able to visit their families, he added.
“We shouldn’t be focusing on what the law is, but on what the law should be,” Perez-Bustillo said.
The children of families separated by immigration often suffer from PTSD, according to an immigration study by The University of North Carolina. The longer the separation, the longer the symptoms lasted.
As hard as it is for family members left behind, it can be hard for the ones who migrate. Cesar Martinez, from Puebla, Mexico, is one of these. He said he migrated to this country to find better opportunities. Mexico is rich but the police and army are killing the public instead of protecting them, Martinez said. Many people are leaving and losing their traditions, language and the opportunity to be with their families.
“I just wish in the future we could have a better chance to come and go,” Martinez said. “I don’t want us to be trapped by our situation.”
Father Alejandro Solalinde, a Mexican catholic priest and human rights activist, said he understands the difficulty many face when migrating to the United States.
“When Mexican immigrants come into this country, they become invisible,” Solainde said in Spanish. “They are commercialized, taken advantage of, and are given no rights.”
Solainde said he hopes that people can understand that undocumented immigrants deserve basic human rights.
An appeal argument on July 10, 2015 on President Obama’s immigration plan met before a three judge panel, reaching no resolution.