Photo: Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images
By: Maribel Hastings
Monday, November 18
Thanksgiving for the new hope of migrants
As in 2013, a ray of hope arises for millions of undocumented immigrants after the approval in the House of Representatives on Friday of an immigration plan contained in a huge bill of social spending. In this case, it is a plan that would grant temporary permits of ten years for the undocumented, protect them against deportation and allow them to travel to their countries of origin without the fear of being deported upon their return.
That measure now goes to the Senate, where its chances are more complicated by the narrow majority of the Democrats, because there are two senators from that party, Joe Manchin, from West Virginia , and Kyrsten Sinema, from Arizona, who are not entirely convinced of some components of the bill, and because the Senate Parliamentarian is the one who will decide if the immigration language of the Lower House will be included in the senatorial version.
In 2013 the Democratic Senate approved a reform plan immigration law that the Republican-majority Lower House never brought to the plenary session. But I remember that for Thanksgiving of that year I gave thanks in an opinion column because there was a hope of reform, although in the end it did not materialize.
Now I see parallels because one of the cameras approved a measure, but its future in the other chamber, in this case in the Senate, is uncertain.
However, as it is the week of Action Thank you, I will not allow my cynicism to consume me and I will beg for something to happen.
Although it is not the path to citizenship that the undocumented deserve, This is an important first step. At least 6.5 million undocumented people would benefit, and according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), of those 6.5 million, at least 3 million could move at some point from their temporary permit to permanent residence, which is the step prior to citizenship.
The language is not perfect, but neither is the current situation of the millions who have been waiting for a solution for decades.
The column I wrote in 2013 is titled “ Hopeful Thanksgiving ”, and I allow myself to reproduce some segments because there are things that have not changed.
I continue to give thanks for being part of a movement that defends a just and necessary cause and for being part of a fight that It has allowed me to know the best and the worst of human beings. The best prevails.
I continue to give thanks for having met immigrants who every day give life lessons facing all kinds of vicissitudes, including the daily possibility of their family being divided. And to that I would add that they continue to move forward, even if the promises of the politicians never materialize.
That is why I continue to thank you for teaching me the meaning of the perseverance in the face of adversity and for living that saying that “in bad weather, good face.”
I keep giving thanks for so many leaders that for decades They have fought for immigration reform tooth and nail. They are an example of perseverance and optimism.
I am thankful that, whatever happens, that fight for just immigration reform will continue.
They say that hope is the last thing that is lost, so this Thursday I will give thanks for that hope.