Why I’m marching: My two Uncles

by Erin Pangilinan

I am not an immigrant. I was born in Santa Clara, California, raised in the Silicon Valley. Many wonder why I care about immigration reform when I do not personally identify as an immigrant. However, as a daughter of immigrants, I march as an ally.

In one of my earliest memories of primary elections, I remember asking my Auntie Ning who she was voting for. Auntie Ning told me she did not vote, even though she is a U.S. citizen. Her husband, my Uncle Jesus is not a U.S. citizen.

Uncle Jesus faced deportation after 9/11 for a crime he was framed for in the 1980s. He is a legal permanent resident. He was at the wrong place and wrong time with some shady people who committed some sort of business fraud. My Uncle didn’t commit a crime or really understand what was going on. He signed some papers of guilt not knowing what he was signing in English and was charged with an aggravated felony. He served one night in jail. Instead of ‘voluntarily deporting’ himself, he challenged his deportation. He proved that he positively contributed to the U.S. and wasn’t a threat to national security. Our family is happy to say that he won his case to stay in the U.S.

It is an injustice that my Uncle Jesus faced deportation merely because he is a legal permanent resident. That isn’t to say he shouldn’t naturalize and become a U.S. citizen.

In November 2008, I called Auntie Ning and Uncle Jesus personally to make sure my family made full use of the citizenship they had, a privilege that is often taken for granted. I hope that Uncle Jesus will still become a U.S. citizen.

Without comprehensive immigration reform, immigrants like my Auntie Ning and Uncle Jesus would continue to lose trust in our government. As a result, they would become discouraged to vote in mid-term elections and primaries. President Barack Obama promised comprehensive immigration reform in his campaigns and it was one of the main reasons why I picked up the phone to call my family to vote.

--

I am 24 years old. It had taken over 20 years for my Uncle Roman to immigrate into the U.S. That’s almost my entire lifespan. It takes 22 years for a U.S. citizen to sponsor or petition a sibling (brother or sister) to immigrate to the U.S. That’s also almost my entire lifespan. He and his wife had already established themselves in the Philippines and decided to permanently reside there after waiting so long to get into the U.S.

The same goes for my father, who chose not to sponsor his brothers and sisters. I don’t really know any of my Uncle or Aunties, their sons and daughters, my cousins. Though we send balikbayan boxes (care packages) to the Philippines multiple times a year, I cannot help but feel disconnected not only to the Philippines, but to an entire side of my family. This is solely because the immigration backlogs and Draconian system does not encourage family unity.

Families in the Filipino American community, like so many other communities, have been separated for far too long. Out of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) ethnic groups, Filipino Americans suffer from the longest backlogs, with sponsorship and immigration into the U.S. up to 22 years for siblings of U.S. citizens. Families wait decades, and for me, my entire life to see my mother reunited with her brother, my Uncle Roman.

Marching on May 1st for comprehensive immigration reform means supporting family unity and that in the future, no other families will face what we faced: separation and deportation.