From our vantage point in rural Vermont, the border may seem so far away as to be irrelevant, but in fact, our everyday actions and inactions, consciousness and lack of consciousness, impact the immigration system and the people who live within its grasp. For this reason, MAlt El Paso, working together with Juntos: Farmworker Student Solidarity Network, constructed a symbolic border fence and casa de cartón (cardboard house) in the lobby of Davis Library last week. The border, whether we acknowledge it or not, is a constant presence in our lives and one which, due to the injustice and exploitation embedded in the immigration system, we should no longer ignore.
Though almost the entire agricultural sector in the U.S. relies on immigrant labor, we often dehumanize the people upon whom our food and sustenance depend, and subject them to inhumane working conditions. In Vermont, approximately 1200-1500 migrant workers sustain dairy farms large and small but have no access to work visas and are therefore considered undocumented – a.k.a. “illegal” – immigrants. Thus, when migrants experience labor violations they have no way of protecting their rights without exposing themselves to authorities and putting themselves at risk of deportation. University of Southern California sociologist and law school professor Emily Ryo notes that migrant workers view our refusal to grant them legal status as pretty hypocritical considering that we are benefiting from their labor at the same time that we are saying, “We don’t want you.”
In some ways, those who make it to Vermont are lucky. Many who cross the U.S.-Mexico border are detained shortly thereafter, tried in federal court and deported. Some attempt to immigrate because their local agricultural economies have been decimated as a consequence of policies such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which has allowed U.S.-subsidized big agricultural corporations to flood the Mexican market with their products. Since the recession of 2008, however, the border has seen an increase in refugees coming from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala to escape violence. Fewer immigrants are coming from Mexico for economic reasons, though we could easily call countless Mexican immigrants “economic refugees,” if such a classification existed.
Street gangs have supplanted state governments in many Central American countries, four of which have murder rates among the top five worldwide. Innocent citizens are subject to extortion, kidnapping and sexual violence. In the meantime, the U.S. is turning a blind eye to this great humanitarian disaster. Refugees are consistently denied asylum, in large part because the laws governing asylum were created during the Cold War and have not been updated to accommodate for non-Soviet Union refugees who may be fleeing their home countries for different, though equally valid, reasons.
Speaking of the Soviet Union, that country – which last time we checked no longer exists – placed sixth in 2013 in number of U.S. asylum grants by country of nationality, ahead of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Needless to say, our asylum system is devastatingly inadequate. Across the country, detention centers are being built to house refugees and other migrants for the months and sometimes years before their trials and likely deportations. Construction is under way in Dilley, Texas, for a new family detention center managed by the controversial private prison giant Corrections Corporation of America (CCA). CCA will be paid $108,000 a year per detainee housed.
These are only some of the many issues linked to immigration and the migrant experience. But now that we have named these problems, what can we do to change things?
One first step that the nation as a whole can take is to recognize just how linked politics is to the border: NAFTA was not just orchestrated by corporations, and the latest additions to the U.S.-Mexico border fence were not built on their own. Policymakers are the ones who decide what steps the U.S. does or does not take in its relationship with Mexico and the rest of Central and South America. If you are eligible to vote in the U.S, look carefully at your politicians and their stances on immigration, and be discriminating. Give your support to those whose political records indicate that they possess an understanding of the multiple layers involved in immigration, rather than promoting a one-dimensional, marginalizing discourse. We should hold our representatives to a higher standard.
So much of what we hear from politicians and news sources serve to dehumanize immigrants and their experiences. Try to be critical: understand that the common discourse about immigrants coming to the U.S. to “take our jobs” is a far cry from reality. Similarly, consider our language: that oft-repeated phrase, “illegal immigrant,” in an instant turns people who might be economic refugees or fleeing violence – people who cross the border because they do not have any other choice – into criminals. When the only way to “legally” enter the U.S. is to wait, suspended in uncertainty, for ten, twenty or even fifty years, it is easy to understand why people cross the border without documentation. Be aware of how you think about, and talk about, immigrants – your language might reinforce a system that dehumanizes the approximately 11.5 million undocumented immigrants currently in the U.S.
Near the end of our MAlt trip, we heard from Ruben Garcia, one of the founders of the migrant shelter Annunciation House, which served as our home for the trip. He asked us one question: “What does the way we treat immigrants say about us?” This striking question does not only apply to the national discourse, but also to the way that we as individuals approach immigration. It is understandable to want to distance yourself from contentious and controversial issues like these. You might feel that you do not have the authority to speak about them, or that they have not affected you personally, or that you do not have a stake in them. But, with a question as big as that of the rights of immigrants in the U.S., we are all already involved, whether we want to be or not.
We built a fence in the library to spread awareness about issues that people often do not realize are so linked to our daily lives. After learning so much, we wanted to take action in whatever way we could. There are so many ways on campus that you can choose to get involved. If you speak Spanish, try coming to Juntos meetings and volunteering with their Compañeros program, or volunteering as a translator at the Open Door Clinic. Speak out for a more just food system in Vermont by getting involved with the Milk with Dignity campaign, a farmworker-driven effort to improve the quality of life for migrant workers on local dairy farms, by signing their petition (accessible at go/milk or go/dignity) and encouraging our administration to support this initiative. Give yourself a challenge: resolve to make more sustainable food decisions, or to not buy any clothing made in sweatshops. If you come across an article or a news story about immigration issues, promise to read the whole thing and think critically about it, rather than turning to another page. Additionally, if you want to learn more about these issues, take a look at some of the articles we have posted online at go/juntos.
We all have the power to take action. Choosing to be aware, and to be conscious, is maybe one of the most important first steps we can take towards making a change. But greater consciousness is still a means to an end, and simply becoming more aware will not necessarily lead to the change we need. If we use our knowledge and awareness to work together and take action, we can be part of the transformation towards a more just society.
