Local meeting of illegal immigrants, supporters brings concerns to fore

SWAMPSCOTT – Many good things are happening when it comes to immigration reform, which is exciting, said Centro Presente organizer Jose Palma to a small crowd gathered at Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Lynn. “But people are still getting deported,” he added.Residents, immigrants and people wanting to help came together Sunday to discuss immigration rights and share personal experiences.Katherine Ascuncion came from the Dominican Republic with her family when she was 10. It wasn’t until she wanted to go to college that she learned her family was undocumented, which meant she couldn’t “get a drivers license, own a dog or go to college.”If you wanted to pay cash for college classes, she said, you were charged three times the amount residents were charged.Palma said he learned that same lesson when he tried to pay $500 for a class and was informed that if he had no social security number it would cost $2,000.Ascuncion has since earned a work visa through Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a program aimed at illegal immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children. “I got my work permit during Christmas last year, that was a great Christmas present,” she said.The Marian Court College sophomore said she now is working for her friends who didn’t qualify for the deferred action program and her parents.Ascuncion said her parents, both accountants in their homeland, gave up everything to give their children a better life in the United States.”We decided last year that we would fight nationally,” she said, referring to SIM, the Student Immigration Movement. “It’s a good time to fight for the 11 million undocumented people living in the U.S.”America has a problem, she said, “it doesn’t like to share.” Her parents have worked non-stop since their arrival and she feels they deserve a better life as well. “No more shadows for our parents,” she said.Palma also related his early struggles in the states but it wasn’t his story he wanted to share. Palma translated for Irasema, whose last name was withheld, who told the tale of her husband being arrested two weeks ago in New Hampshire after being berated by a police officer during a routine traffic stop that revealed he is undocumented. She is also undocumented, Palma explained, but has to return for a hearing where she also could be arrested and turned over to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE.Lena Graber, with the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, said in recent years ICE has been utilizing local law enforcement agencies by asking them to notify ICE and detain anyone undocumented until the federal agencies can pick them up. The National Immigration Project is asking local police departments to stop the practice, she said. The 10th Amendment states that the Federal Government cannot force local law enforcement to do its bidding, Graber noted.”We depend on local police to protect the public, report on and deal with crime,” she said. “When it becomes a gateway to deportation immigrants become terrified of the police,” and won’t admit to witnessing crimes or report crimes.Palma asked audience members to help Irasema and her family by actually accompanying her to her hearing in New Hampshire. He said often times a show of community support is all it takes for ICE to back down.Jesse Jaeger, executive director of the Unitarian Universalist Mass Action, who moderated the event, said people can also help by calling their representatives and asking them to support House Bill 2720, a statewide initiative aimed at restoring trust in law enforcement.Chris Stevens can be reached at [email protected].