Panel advocates for undocumented immigrants on Long Island
The issue of immigration is causing a great deal of controversy in American politics today, and the Hofstra community decided to address the topic head-on during the 17th annual Day of Dialogue on Wednesday, Oct. 23.
The panel discussion, titled “Not Just a Crisis at the Border: Critical Immigrants’ Rights Issues on Long Island,” was hosted by student fellows of the Center for Civic Engagement with the goal of drawing attention to the obstacles faced by immigrants beyond the Mexico-U.S. border.
Organized by Andrea Libresco, professor of teaching, learning and technology, the panel featured Susan Gottehrer, executive director of the Nassau chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union; Patrick Young, downstate advocacy director of the New York Immigration Coalition; Keiko Cervantes-Ospina, co-founder and attorney-in-charge of the Community Legal Advocates of New York and Cheryl Keshner, coordinator of the Long Island Language Advocates Coalition.
Josie Dituri, a graduate assistant for the Center for Civic Engagement who is pursuing her master’s degree in industrial and organizational psychology, said that she helped to organize the event because it tackles “relevant” issues. “These things are happening at our doorsteps and with our neighbors,” she said. “It’s not something we can just ignore.”
The panelists started the discussion by focusing on the injustices against immigrant communities in Nassau and Suffolk counties, which showed the true proximity of this discrimination.
Keshner highlighted the ongoing problem of discrimination based on language. In many cases, not speaking English can put people not only at a disadvantage but in danger, which she emphasized using the example of Deisy Garcia.
In 2014, Garcia filed a police report against her husband for threatening her life. Her statement, which was in Spanish, was not reviewed because the police did not translate it. Months later, Garcia and her two daughters were murdered by her husband.
“Programs like these raise awareness and begin to educate us, which is the first step in civic engagement,” Libresco said.
“For example, I suspect not many of us know that an overwhelming number of calls to the police do not get addressed just because the caller’s native language is not English, which has led to real tragedies that could certainly have been avoided with different policies in place. Once people know about these harmful, discriminatory practices, they can act as allies and advocates for change.”
Gottehrer and Cervantes-Ospina both explained the legal facets of undocumented immigrants’ concerns at length, discussing topics like the chain of custody, DACA and the recent Francis decision, which ruled that New York state and local officers cannot legally detain people for civil immigration violations alone.
Many students attended out of an interest in the legal aspect of the discussion.
“Part of why I want to become an attorney is because I have such a strong sense of justice and equality and I think that those two things should align more than they do,” said Stella Rose-Wyatt, a freshman psychology major.
The event was moderately attended until a class of students from Alfred E. Smith Career and Technical Education High School in the Bronx joined the audience.
The young students were particularly vocal during the question and answer session, asking exactly how to apply the panelists’ advice to real-life situations. “The practical questions posed by students and the practical answers given by the passionate and knowledgeable panelists gave the discussion an immediacy and importance that was palpable,” Libresco said.
The panelists’ answers showed that being more aware of their rights can calm many of undocumented immigrants’ anxieties.
“Their advice about [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] raids surprised me, but in a good way,” Dituri said. “Their advice gives a lot more power back to the people.”
While the panel brought attention to the barriers and to the unfair treatment of immigrants, they also discussed various examples of the progress being made.
Young concluded the discussion on a particularly optimistic note by speaking about the future of New York’s Green Light Bill, which will give undocumented immigrants the right to a driver’s license.
“The leaders in this – even though we all pushed for it – were the immigrant communities themselves. Undocumented immigrants came out, they stood up, they were very brave,” Young said. “It’s not just the victory of the undocumented or the immigrant communities, but also those immigrants who were brave enough to take a stand for their entire community.”
