Living Under a Different (Oppressive) Set of Rules

March 18, 2021

Guest blogger: Daniel Javier Martinez, law student, University of San Francisco

The default American family is portrayed as an Anglo-Saxon heterosexual couple who is married with two kids. They have a stable income and likely own a house. They typically live in a suburb and likely only leave when they need to, and when they do leave, they enjoy the comfort of knowing that they will be safe because law enforcement will protect them. Their children are encouraged to go to college because the parents want their children to have a stable and secure future, and this cycle is expected to repeat because the laws are written with this American Family in mind.

If you do not mirror the default, hiccups in life—such as the loss of a job, an illness in the family, a divorce, or even not having enough money for college—develop into adversities. When you add the layer being an immigrant family in America, adversities turn into something more sinister when you consider that immigrants are governed by a different set of laws than that of the default American family. These laws are not only oppressive, but they create violence within immigrant communities and create effects of trauma which can span generations.

Modernly, explicit displays of violence through immigration policies can be seen by the separation of migrant families at the border. This display of violence is used as a direct tactic to prevent further migrants from crossing into America, and many of these migrants simply wish for a better future just like the American family. Assuming a migrant has established roots within the country their next obstacle is maintaining a low profile until they find a way to become naturalized. While the advent of sanctuary cities in some parts of the country has indeed relieved some stress and fear of being deported, deportation is still a real possibility. Imagine for example an undocumented set of parents who just had their second child. The removal of either the primary economic provider or the primary caregiver puts the other parent in the challenging situation of how to balance work and caregiving with the fear of deportation looming in the back of their mind. Now if that family also includes a grandmother and uncle, that entire community feels the ripple effect of losing a family member as they may lose a peg of economic stability.

Another unique situation arises for immigrant living within 100 miles of the border because U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) now have an additional 100 miles of jurisdiction to terrorize families within their homes and communities. This policy creates more opportunities to destabilize immigrant lives by effectively restricting movement thus preventing immigrants to build community. Additional policing within 100 miles of the border also deters immigrants from traveling near such areas. Imagine a ten-year-old coming home from school who just heard that his friends went to Legoland over the weekend so he asks his parents if they can go soon, but his parents know to stay out of Carlsbad, CA since that area is notorious for having ICE checkpoints. Perhaps an intended effect is to create a sense of security for those American families not wishing to near live immigrant communities. Another tool ICE uses to destabilize immigrant communities is work raids, many of which are at lower-wage jobs where a immigrant may already be struggling to maintain economic stability. The fear of losing a loved one, and the fear that ICE may come into your place of work in culmination with ICE’s extra border policing creates violence in immigrant families through lasting psychological trauma.

Something that is often overlooked is how undocumented immigrants may be restricted from attaining higher education due to lack of funding. Imagine an undocumented immigrant and an American citizen both of which do not come from a family with financial means to afford college tuition but the only difference is citizenship. The citizen has the option to take out loans through a private bank or through a state or federal loan. Undocumented immigrants do not have such an option. While Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is available, not everyone eligible. Consider Temporary Protection Status (TPS) holders who do not qualify for DACA but likely have a similar story to DACA recipients: they arrived as minors, grew up in American culture, attended American schools, likely speak English better than their native language, and developed their own goals and aspirations. Imagine an aspiring dancer-choreographer who worked hard to maintain an excellent GPA and build a strong application with hopes of getting into the best school. She gets into the school but—like most of America—cannot afford to pay $51,466 in tuition for four years, and unlike most of America, she does not have the option of government student loans. These obstacles make it very difficult for an immigrant to plan a secure future.

The Constitution of the United States protects all citizens but to immigrants this means that the country may violate constitutionally protected rights. For example, the Fourth Amendment, which protects the privacy of citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures, loses some of its safeguards such as the “Exclusionary Rule.” Who is an immigrant to turn to when the laws have failed them? Ideally an immigration attorney is the solution, but not all of them may understand the intricacies of the law and may unknowingly make a mistake or perhaps miss a deadline that is crucial to the outcome of a client’s case.

The all-too-common situation for an immigrant hoping to adjust their status involves deciding to return to their home country—which they left for a reason—or deciding to remain in a country which oppresses them and holds an uncertain future. Hoping for the best or perhaps because they do not have anywhere else to go, they often choose the latter. All of this is not to say that immigrant families and communities cannot flourish, but with such obstacles how are they expected to prosper and succeed.