This holiday season, activists in California are urging the state’s undocumented population to be particularly vigilant. That is because, at this time of year, law enforcement sets up driver’s checkpoints, attempting to ferret out intoxicated motorists. Activists warn that this can be a particularly dangerous situation for immigrants, whether or not they hold valid drivers licenses, since police officers are likely to use this opportunity to check the legal residency status of those individuals suspected of being undocumented.
The dangers posed to undocumented immigrants by these police checkpoints is one example in a long line of additional stresses placed on this part of our country’s population during the Christmas season. For many, the holidays are a time for public revelry, trips to shops and restaurants and visits to the homes of relatives too far away to travel to regularly. However, for those without the proper authorization to be in this country, long car trips and public celebrations can ultimately lead them into police custody.
In addition, the holidays are certainly an extremely difficult time for those families in this country who have already been split up due to U.S. immigration laws. This Christmas, thousands of undocumented immigrants are in custody in federal facilities, most not even permitted face to face visits with their spouses and children. And, of the 400,000 individuals deported from this country in 2011, most have been separated from families still in the U.S., including immediate family members who are U.S. citizens. As many in the U.S. travel to spend the holiday with those they love most, these people will have to settle for a long distance phone call.
Taking what could be a particularly depressing and hopeless time of year and creating something positive out of it, many immigration activists are using this holiday season to spread awareness of the cruel treatment received by immigrants in this country and the need in the U.S. for comprehensive immigration reform.
A group of undocumented students are distributed a clever online petition titled, “GrinchBama, Don’t Deport my Momma,” urging the President to stop separating families through unnecessary deportations. In Georgia, two teen activists are set to occupy the Cobb County sheriff’s office on Christmas day, protesting the imminent deportation of two Dream Act-eligible immigrant youths. And on the Huffington Post, queer Filipino immigrant Erwin de Leon penned an insightful op/ed urging readers to reflect this Christmas on the particular plight of this country’s undocumented LGBT population.
These leaders show that although the Christmas season can be a difficult one for many undocumented individuals in this country, it can also serve as a time for reflection and as an impetus for change.
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