Praying for #ImmigrationReform in September with two dedicated OFA organizers. The prayers continue, but finally we can celebrate the turning tide...
Here is what comes next:
We request an interview with the US Consulate in Mexico
A couple months later we will be notified of the date of that interview
We will travel to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico for the interview, then spend a week or two with Alfy's mom in Veracruz waiting for his Visa to arrive
We will come home together and wait for Alfy's green card
We will throw a really big party!!!!
So basically, in 3-6 months this whole ordeal will be behind us. So much reason to celebrate. This truly is the victory of a community that has walked this journey with us. There are many indications that family friendly reforms are coming soon, and we will continue fighting for that to happen. I've learned more than I could ever hope to articulate during these difficult years. Here are some of the most important lessons for me:
Community is essential. We cannot change things alone. We cannot weather life's storms alone. We are made to be in community with one another, taking on each other's burdens. They are so light when we carry them together, and we can walk so much further when the weight is distributed over more shoulders.
The truth will set you free. No, really. For a while we kept our struggle private. We wondered why we didn't have profound friendships or find other people engaged in the immigration reform movement. We cringed at the hateful things people said in our presence, completely unaware that they were talking about our family. When we finally shared our struggle, we rejoiced at the outpouring of love and support we received. People who had never bothered to think critically - or maybe even at all - about our immigration system began to take ownership of the issue. Our relationships deepened, our support network multiplied, our voices were amplified. Just telling the truth made all the difference.
Finally, I am daily becoming a more grateful person. One cannot live in the shadow of constant fear of having your family ripped apart without warning or provocation and not appreciate the exquisite moments. I have learned to be more fully present. Tomorrow has never had any kind of assumption tied to it. It was only ever the unknown. For years I have operated under the mantra of "Today my family is together. Today my family is safe. Today my family is healthy. I am blessed. I am thankful. God is good." It is a sobering existence, but so divinely beautiful in the simplicity of just actively loving what is here now. I have been privileged to know an incredibly courageous and powerful group of people these past few months. The families of American Families United have lived this existence. These families have, in many cases, watched their worst fears materialize before their eyes, moms and dads chained up like criminals and marched into detention. Their babies don't know what they did wrong - they only know that their parents loved them but now they are gone and they won't come back. Sometimes love can follow its home into exile. It is a wretched experience to be thrown out by your country in order to live with your spouse. Often love must battle homesickness, its heart split between two countries for medical or economic reasons. Sometimes home becomes so distant that love cannot see it and must find a new home. Knowing these families changed me. Changes me. Changes my prayers and my desires. It's funny. A year ago we stood up in church to share what we were going through and ask our community to pray with/for us. Yesterday I stood up in church to share these glad tidings and ask for continued prayers - but not for us. I honestly don't remember the last time that I prayed that our waiver would be approved. At some point along the way it stopped being about me, about my family, about our happiness and well-being. Instead, it became about doing justice and loving kindness and walking humbly with God. (Micah 6:8) My prayers have been for the kids celebrating their birthdays in front of computers because one parent can only be there through Skype and for US Citizen women giving birth in developing countries, attended by physicians speaking a foreign language, without any family members or support systems. My prayers are for our congressional leaders who are so afraid to show compassion because it might break them. My prayers are for all of the people who are not counted as human beings. My prayers are for justice. Won't you join your voice with mine as we plead and work for a more just and kind society?
American Families United is a 501c4 committed to lobbying for waiver reform to help mixed status families stay together in their home country. It is a wonderful community of faith and support, doing big things and speaking truth to power. We represent the human side of immigration. If you feel led to make a donation, you can do so at https://americanfamiliesunited.wildapricot.org/donate