Here’s an account by freelance reporter Gohar Chichian, an Armenian American, of growing up in America with undocumented parents. Eventually, her parents were able to obtain legal status.
The U.S. Supreme Court agrees with her that American politicians have a responsibility (often ignored) to represent the interests of everyone, including immigrants both legal and undocumented. In the 2016 case Evenwel v. Abbott (link below), the majority opinion by Justice Ginsburg said:
“As the Framers of the Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment comprehended, representatives serve all residents, not just those eligible or registered to vote. Nonvoters have an important stake in many policy debates—children, their parents, even their grandparents, for example, have a stake in a strong public-education system—and in receiving constituent services, such as help navigating public-benefits bureaucracies. By ensuring that each representative is subject to requests and suggestions from the same number of constituents, total-population apportionment promotes equitable and effective representation.”
Here’s an excerpt from Chichian’s article in Huffpost:
“Our battle was finally over. But the war over immigration will continue with the start of the Trump administration. As Trump’s policies begin to unfold, politicians in Washington should remember that the immigration debate isn’t just about a few particular groups. The rhetoric of Donald Trump over the past year may have focused on Mexicans and Muslims, but my parents are Christian, and they are from a country that was devastated by a totalitarian left-wing ideology. Their story makes clear just how broad an impact the immigration decisions made in Washington will have on diverse communities nationwide. We are a nation built by immigrants — our politicians should work to represent them. All of them.”
The link to the full article is at the top.
Click to access 14-940_ed9g.pdf
PWS
12/26/16