#cir2013

by Tyler Reny

Last night, Chris Hayes offered a really good inside look at the current politics behind immigration reform.  As Hayes says, it all comes down to House Speaker Boehner.  Will he violate the Hastert Rule and bring an immigration bill to the floor to vote on without a majority of support from his own party, and risk losing his own job as speaker?  Or will he take a stand against his base in favor of the establishment donor class?

A few people have asked about my position on the CIR bill. Quite frankly, I think the bill perpetuates an already broken system. But far beyond a broken immigration system, I believe it is a layered reflection of a multitude of oppressive systems in the U.S. I can talk about the idea of the nationalism, and how debilitating this –ism is. How the bill requires undocumented folks to learn English, and the linguistic racism behind that. I can tell you about the failure to recognize LGBTQ relationships. The unrealistic requirements of maintaining steady work during an already dire economic time. And the dehumanizing plan for border security and enforcement. But, on this occasion I will discuss my thoughts on the organizing component.

Similar to the times when undocumented youth were fighting to pass the Dream Act, there were and continue to be “activists” that believe they know better than those who are directly affected by their status. It was around 2010, that I decided to break free of these groups and join the fight alongside undocumented youth, in organizations where they were at the forefront. I did this because I thought it was ridiculous to sit in a room discussing immigration without the voices of those that are directly affected by the policies. Moreover, I believe that it is important for all of us born in the U.S. to check our privilege and accept that we will never know what it feels like to be undocumented, or to experience the fear of deportation. This is where things get a little complex, but not really. Complex because at the end of the day oppressive systems are interconnected, which means that it is very possible for documented folks or mixed status families to feel the stigma that is coming from that same broken immigration system.  After all, the immigration system does not exist in a vacuum. Rather, it is an appendage of much larger mechanisms, the mechanisms of racism, sexism, homophobia, supremacy, patriarchy, and so on. With that being said it is crucial to recognize that while we understand the underlying forces that run the dehumanizing wheels of the immigration system, there is something very real that undocumented immigrants face, and that is being UNDOCUMENTED.

In the fight for just immigration reform, the undocumented should lead. But, I do not think it is ever okay to shut out the voice of others who experience some of that stigma. I see the anger and I see the frustration, but when you silence voices. What is really going on? After all, “you cannot use the master’s tools to dismantle the master’s house.” What I mean by this is that I do not think it is ever okay to silence the voice of those that have experienced oppression from the same violent core. When the term “ally” started being used, I embraced it, but after a while I didn’t feel as comfortable embracing this term anymore. I just didn’t feel like an “ally”, I felt stigma in a way that allies in other movements may not have felt. And well the word “citizen” is a romanticized term, which does not mean the same thing for everyone born in the U.S. Second class citizens?  Yes they exist. What I do believe however, is that it is not okay for me to decide what “is better” for undocumented people. I believe that I can share my thoughts, my voice in these discussions, but at the end of the day I will fight for what those directly affected decide is worth fighting for, at least in the case of immigration. If the fight is for the passage of this immigration reform bill, then I will fight. There is something very real that the immigration system has stripped away from undocumented people, and that is the right to live and to exist as dignified and respected human beings in this society. If this bill is the first step, then I will fight. Because, I do not believe we will stop there.  We did not stop after DACA, and I know in my heart that the organizers and activists who are rising in this movement will find that the fight never stops, but every step must be respected, fought for, and learned from.