In the wake of what seems to be a four-four split over a rule intended to prevent immigrant families from being ripped apart in the event a parent's undocumented status is discovered, a handful of activists called for a compassionate approach to immigration.
They gathered in Tampa just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments for and against an executive order President Obama signed in 2014 to prevent certain deportations. It's a lawsuit Texas initiated, one that 25 states jumped into. Obama's executive order was aimed at delaying the deportations of about four million undocumented immigrants.
Community organizer Ana Lamb said Monday that without the protections, even the most mundane actions feel perilous for those at risk of deportation.
“When you're an immigrant without documents, you don't know what's going to happen, if you'll get stopped by the police somewhere, taking your kids to school or going to work, or helping somebody," she said. "So it's very dangerous.”
She said Texas' lawsuit was disheartening as well as disingenuous, given the role undocumented workers play in the economy.
“Nobody's on the farms working except the immigrants," she said. "I don't see anybody taking the unskilled jobs but the immigrants. I don't see why they're afraid.”
Pamela Gomez with the Florida Immigrant Coalition said she hopes the general public stops buying into the idea that the U.S. has an unparalleled immigration crisis and that the U.S. and other Western countries don't have a hand in the root causes of population fluxes.
“We understand that there are root causes to migration, and that a lot of people don't understand the complexities of what immigration is in this country and internationally, that immigrant struggles tie in all around the world, not just here in the United States, for many reasons.”
She added that politicians play on xenophobia in order to garner votes.
“It's sad to see that our contributions, what we bring to the country, is oftentimes overlooked," Gomez said. "The elections bring out a lot of that. We are moved by it, because when our humanity and our dignity goes un-respected, we know we have to stand up.”
A split court means that the case will likely go in favor of the 26 states involved in the lawsuit. That decision is expected in late June. It's unclear how it will go, but the activists who gathered Monday said they vowed to keep up their fight.
“It is hard to know what is going to happen, but what we are sure of is that we are going to continue,” Lamb said.
Earlier in the day, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, a Tampa Democrat, said in a written statement that the executive order was meant as a response to Republican obstructionism in Congress.
Florida, she said, would be profoundly impacted.
"It is within the President’s authority to take appropriate steps to focus law enforcement efforts on deporting felons, not families," she said. "In Florida, an estimated 150,000 of our neighbors are eligible for Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) and 14,000 are eligible for expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) — these productive individuals could come out of the shadows, work, go to school and participate in our economy.”
This article appears in Apr 14-20, 2016.