What does it do to a community when a significant fraction of its members are declared illegal by their presence? It creates a culture of fear. When a 6% of the people in a state are "illegal" they may be afraid to call the police to report a crime because they may be subject to deportation, afraid to use medical services, hesitant to advocate for their children in school, because they may be subject to arrest and deportation at any time.
Conservatives argue its their fault for being here - drive them out with stricter laws, is the Republican battle cry. But, their work is contributing to the community, not to mention to the pockets of many of those Republicans. Donald Trump's latest luxury hotel is being built by undocumented immigrants at the same time he calls for their deportation: http://www.businessinsider.com/...
Beyond the obvious hypocrisy, the human impact of the reality created, the situation where 'normal' is working mother Rosa Robles Loreto being pulled over for a traffic violation and taken into custody for deportation. To avoid being fully separated from her family she has partly separated from her family and has taken sanctuary in a church in Tucson for over a year. Instead of working to pay bills, volunteering at her church and attending her sons' school events and baseball games, she stays within the confines of Southside Presbyterian Church.
Rosa did not set out to be either a hero or a lawbreaker. She was living and working in Arizona when she became pregnant, but "didn't want to break any laws or rely on government assistance by giving birth to them here, so she returned home to have them in Mexico." Her situation shouldn't be reduced to soundbites or simplistic answers - Rosa and her family are real people, working members of the community, and they deserve a real solution. How do we communicate that to people who operate by racism and fear?
https://www.facebook.com/...
http://www.southsidepresbyterian.org/...
http://www.newsday.com/...