In between dance numbers at her Ballet Folklórico show this Saturday, Maribel Hernández GS walked onstage to dedicate the group's performance to all immigrants in the United States.
"In the immigration debate, we feel there are two words we haven't heard: Thank you," she said to the audience.
Hernández, a first-year Wilson School MPA candidate, wore a yellow colonial-style dress from her native country of Mexico. During intermission, she and the rest of Ballet Folklórico circulated a petition addressed to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist '74 advocating complete and fair immigration reform that creates a path to citizenship and does not make criminals out of illegal immigrants. Hernández said the group has already obtained about 300 signatures and will continue collecting them this week.
It is a particularly sensitive time for U.S. immigrants. Today, immigrants' rights groups across the country are uniting for the National Day of Action for Immigrant Rights. They are responding to the passage of a bill in the House of Representatives last December that, if passed in the Senate, would strengthen border security and criminalize undocumented immigration and assistance to immigrants, including family members, employers and charities.
Partisan conflict on Friday blocked the passage of a Senate compromise on immigration, which included a guest worker program and limited eligibility for citizenship.
In response to these actions, Hernández has led a group of University students to raise awareness about immigrant issues. Members from Chicano Caucus, Acción Latina, College Democrats, the black graduate caucus and other groups will join together today to publicize the legislation, which will affect an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants.
"For me, it's really hard to see how [the United States is] willing to use immigrants for labor, but we're not willing to give them rights," Hernandez said in an interview.
To garner support on campus, this student coalition will set up tables in the residential dining halls and outside Frist Campus Center, wearing T-shirts with the slogan "Immigrant Rights Now" and handing out informational pamphlets. The group decided not to stage a demonstration to avoid alienating peers, Hernández said.
"If we can influence the way people think here and make them think about it, we can influence policy in the future," she said.
Not all students, however, agree with Hernández's views on immigration reform.
"Illegal immigration is illegal," College Republicans treasurer Wyatt Yankus '09 said. "So the idea that ... someone who obviously committed an illegal act should not face any consequences is damaging to our notions of law and order." He stressed that his comments were his personal ideas and not the official stance of the College Republicans. He also applauded the groups for sparking debate over an important issue on campus.
Local communities
The issue of immigrant reform hits close to home for Hernández, who immigrated to the United States from Mexico City when she was 13 years old. Although her family initially planned to return home, they settled in Texas after Hernández received full scholarships to attend Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard.
"Luckily, I've had many opportunities that others haven't had," she said.
Hernández said she was surprised when she arrived at the University this year and saw the socioeconomic divisions between the Latino community down Witherspoon Street and the neighborhoods nearer to campus.
"It's interesting to see how segregated the communities are in such a small area," she said.
Marta Tienda, a professor in the Wilson School and sociology department whose father was an undocumented Mexican immigrant, said that the scattering of the Latino populations to smaller cities and towns is a growing trend.
Demand for workers to perform jobs in construction, agriculture or household services originally increases Hispanic populations in new areas. Many of these immigrants then settle in their communities and create mixed households in which undocumented parents have children who are born as citizens.
"It's a huge moral dilemma for this country to say yes, you are a U.S. citizen, but your parents violated the law," said Tienda, who will be speaking on "Immigration and Class" over dinner in the Rockefeller Private Dining Room tonight.
She added that an important aspect of future immigration legislation will be a commitment to controlling the influx of illegal immigrants as well as enforcing sanctions on employers who hire them as cheap labor. She said many employers escape fines for hiring immigrants, in part by using subcontractors.
Tienda also said that fair immigration laws that incorporate current Latino populations are central to stabilizing the burgeoning numbers of immigrants in the United States.
"These are honest, working people who are trying to earn a livelihood and make their stay at Princeton possible," she said.
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