Families say they worry they will be torn apart
Families say they worry they will be torn apart
By Devona Walker
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35
Published: December 7, 2007
About 300 students and parents attended an immigration town hall meeting Thursday night at Santa Fe South Charter School, seeking clarity about new immigration laws.
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HB 1804, the nation's toughest immigration enforcement legislation, went into effect Nov. 1. It denies drivers licenses and public services to illegal immigrants, requires all state agencies to verify citizenship of all new hires, and criminalizes transporting, harboring or concealing illegal immigrants.
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‘Now, we are just scared'
Juan Flores, 15, his parents and three siblings came to Oklahoma illegally from Jalisco about four years ago. He knew his parents wanted their children to have a better life.
In Jalisco, his mother worked in the fields, picking crops. Here, his mother works for one of the largest corporations in the state and his father earns a decent salary in construction.
But since HB 1804, fear has essentially gripped the family.
"We came for a better life, and it was better,” said Flores, who was at the meeting. "But now, we are just scared. Oklahoma is closing all the doors because we are illegal. Work for my parents brings fear. They will not even let me go outside anymore. They are so scared someone is going to come take me.”
Three sisters in the audience were born in Oklahoma. Their parents, too, are here illegally. But shortly after their family established themselves here, some family members from Mexico came to join them.
"We wanted to know more about the new law because it's affecting a lot of Hispanic people. But the Hispanic people didn't come here to hurt anyone; they just come for a better life for their kids,” said 13-year-old Jessica Cornejo.
Dozens of members of the audience asked questions of a group of panelists that included two representatives from Oklahoma City Public Schools, two immigration attorneys who clarified the law and its implications as well as the head of an area nonprofit. The questions ran the gamut.
But the primary concern for many was summed up by the words of one of the panelists.
"Families are fearful their children will be taken away from them while they are being deported,” said Johnny Randall. "Then they will be torn between two countries.”
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And they are taking jobs that would got to Americans and pay living wages if they were not here. We are paying staggering welfare for those folks..the employer is the only one who benefits.
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=16390
2nd of all this is a charter school , which is where we have to send our children because of the failure of the OKCPS system . The schools he founded are the fasting growing in the state , and way ahead of the public schools in every way !
I was at the meeting last night , no im not an illegal , and the parents did not send their children to ask questions for them , there was an full house and it was mostly parents .
The meeting was to help everyone understand the laws and answer questions , not promote illegal immigration.
This law isnt just affecting illegals , i myself have taken in legal children of illegal parents who need to finish school here to qualify for the OHLAP program
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Some of the "illegals" have been here 15-20 years , and in one case the father only found out his visa was fake this last summer after 18 years here , his wife is a teacher in these same OKCPS, they own a house , their son just graduated high school (valedectorian) and is entering OU next fall . Are these not the type of people Oklahoma NEEDS ?
Not all illegals are here for welfare , and if you look at the statistics , those that do qualify are only subsidized while working low paying jobs , where us americans are happy to sit on our ever growing rears and collect it all for years while doing nothing ,and dont get me started on SSI where you can collect a monthly payment for being overweight , not being able to read anything but the drive thru menu , using drugs , and a variety of other debilitating "illnesses" .