The plight of Elvira Arellano illustrates the way our twisted immigration laws undercut the values our country holds sacred.

She came to the United States as an undocumented worker at the age of 22. She was caught and returned to her home country, but her will was undeterred and within a short time she was living in Oregon. In 1999, her son Saul Arellano was born. A year later, mother and son moved to Chicago, where she got a job cleaning at O’Hare Airport. After the tightening of immigration security following the events of 9/11, she was arrested. Crime: using a false Social Security number.

I know scores like Elvira Arellano. The employment she and others perform is looked down at by the rest of us. But we aren’t grateful for their efforts. Instead, we penalize them. Arellano was put on three-year probation. To avoid deportation, on the day she was scheduled to appear in court she sought sanctuary at a Methodist church in Chicago.

Is she to be blamed? The path of immigrant workers often leads them to compromising positions.

At the age of seven, Saul Arellano, an American citizen under the 14th Amendment, testified before the Mexican Congress, requesting that it put pressure on the U.S. government to let his mother live a normal life in his country, the United States.

But the effort was fruitless. Elvira Arellano was arrested in Los Angeles a few weeks ago and was subsequently sent back.

She doesn’t want to live in Mexico, though. Jobs there are scarce. Is Elvira Arellano exploiting her son for her own benefit, as her critics suggest? The question misses the point. No doubt she understands that crossing the border illegally isn’t the right approach. But she wouldn’t have been allowed in otherwise.

Should she choose poverty instead of hope? She also knows that not until Mexico becomes a magnet for its own population – and the United States has a stake in that effort – will they stay put.

I’m Mexican and, thus, an immigrant. So were the British Pilgrims (the term used in the 17th century for “immigrant” was settler) and also the scores of Italians, Irish, Germans, Swedes, Jews, and other newcomers to these lands. Some came legally to the United States, others didn’t. Breaking families apart is against the U.S. Constitution.

Elvira Arellano isn’t a criminal. She didn’t kill anyone while she lived among us. Nor did she steal any property. Instead, she worked hard cleaning and paid her taxes. And, like most Americans, she hoped that one day Saul would have an education, find a better job than the ones she’s had, and have a share of the American dream. The Bush Administration believes that if she wants to be with her son, she should move to Mexico. But her son wants to be with her in America. In Mexico her chances of a better life are limited, and so are his. Not in the United States.

By the way, I’m happy to report that The Latino American Experience has grown by adding the extraordinary content of the award-winning three-volume set Latinas in the United States: A Historical Encyclopedia, edited by Vicki L. Ruiz and Virginia Sánchez Korrol and published by Indiana University Press. Earlier this year the volume was named “Best in Reference” by the New York Public Library. Elvira Arellano is one of millions of Latinas making a difference.

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Posted Friday, September 21st, 2007 at 9:56 am
Filed under Immigration Tagged as Deportation, women | Trackback | RSS Comments