Saturday, May 14, 2011

On Being an (Ex) Undocumented Immigrant Father,immigration news - Hispanically Speaking News

On Being an (Ex) Undocumented Immigrant Father,immigration news - Hispanically Speaking News

On Being an (Ex) Undocumented Immigrant Father

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Photo Credits: Immigrant Fathers

Today’s Contributor is Alberto Ledesma. Alberto is a Writing Program Coordinator at UC Berkeley.

Sofia and I had been making that turn since we had moved to Castro Valley. In those five years, the protesters at the corner of Castro Valley Boulevard and Redwood Road had become an constant example of the way politics worked in the United States. Each time, after I picked her up from abuelita’s house, we waited for the light to turn while she stared at the protesters.

“What does ‘Impeach Bush’ mean, papá?” Sofia had asked when she was in the third grade. Dozens of car horns had beeped in agreement. “You beep too, papá!” She had implored when our turn came to cross.

A few years later, at the start of Sofia’s fifth grade and more than 12 months after Barack Obama had been elected, she wondered, “Why do they still want to ‘End the War’? Didn’t President