ANNADALE, VIRGINIA — Thanks to a recent decision from the U.S. Supreme Court that ensures President Obama’s executive action to defer the deportation of millions of immigrants will remain blocked, undocumented families will continue to live in fear of deportation.
Bati Tsogtsaikhan and Max Kim are members of two of those families. And just one day after the court decision, the two young immigrants sat down to a traditional Korean dinner with Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) to try to put their experiences into words.
Over plates of red rice, barbeque beef, a type of fern called gosari, and seasoned spinach, they periodically became overcome with emotion as they revealed their personal connection to the decision. They told Connolly about their journeys to the United States as young children — Tsogtsaikhan from Mongolia, Kim from South Korea — and explained that their undocumented parents are now at risk of deportation anytime they interact with law enforcement officials.
Everything You Need To Know About The Supreme Court Challenge To Obama’s Immigration PoliciesJustice by CREDIT: AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais Brownsville, Texas, is nowhere near the state capital in Austin…thinkprogress.orgBecause of their undocumented statuses, it has been more difficult for Tsogtsaikhan and Kim to consider going to college and having future careers. It has also put a very specific strain on their families because it’s not clear they’ll be able to stay together.
Tsogtsaikhan, 22, said his parents are struggling to come up with a contingency plan if they become separated from his 12-year-old brother, who is a U.S. citizen. “My brother would most likely stay here. We don’t even know who he would stay with,” he told ThinkProgress.
At issue is an executive action known as Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) and an expanded version of a companion initiative known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which grant permission for millions of undocumented immigrants to work in the country without fear of deportation.
The two initiatives have been tied up in litigation for more than a year, stalling the president’s efforts to divert immigration enforcement resources away from the members of the undocumented population who have lived in this country for years and have deep ties to their communities. But because the programs are on hold, millions of immigrant families like Tsogtsaikhan’s and Kim’s are still living in the shadows, afraid of potential deportation proceedings.
“I’m sorry for what you’ve gone through, but hang in there,” Connolly told the two immigrants at dinner, which took place around a makeshift dining table set up inside the offices of the immigrant advocacy group Nation Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC).
Kim is applying for DACA this summer, though he said his parents were “scared that it was a government conspiracy to round up all the undocumented people and deport them all at once.” They didn’t want him to apply for the program because it seemed too risky.
This Lawmaker Had Dinner With An Undocumented Family. He Wants Republicans To Follow Suit.Immigration by CREDIT: Esther Yu Hsi Lee ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – When Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) sat down as a dinner guest on…thinkprogress.orgIn a place as diverse as Fairfax County, mass deportation could mean upending the contributions that immigrants in the area have already added to drive the revenue growth in the area. About 210,000 undocumented immigrants live in Virginia, with many living in Fairfax.
The immigration population has been rapidly expanding in the area, and there are some apparent benefits. Connolly remarked that in his district, the influx of immigrants has led to better educational testing scores and graduation rates, while drop-out rates and crime and homicide rates have gone down.
“It’s a more interesting place to live,” Connolly said. “There are people who don’t like it. But overall our community said it works and that’s how America has to work. That’s how it’s supposed to work.”
It’s clear that Connolly himself doesn’t need to be convinced of the contributions that immigrants make, particularly in his congressional district. But the national #DAPAdinner campaign, hosted by the immigrant advocacy group America’s Voice, is meant to help humanize the immigration issue among lawmakers who may need an extra push.
Although advocacy groups have called on both Republican and Democratic politicians to participate in these dinners to better get to know undocumented immigrants, only Democrats have taken up the offer so far. All three Democratic presidential candidates have participated in the dinners, as well as Democratic congressional members Sens. Harry Reid (NV) and Dick Durbin (IL) and Reps. Bill Foster (IL), Ruben Gallego (AZ), and Don Beyer (VA).
I wish my colleagues could go through that experience because it would provide a human picture.
“Their whole futures are on hold and they didn’t do anything wrong and they’re as American as I am. This is their culture. This is where they grew up,” Connolly told ThinkProgress after the dinner ended. “I wish my colleagues could go through that experience because it would provide a human picture for a public policy issue and bring it down to practical consequences. That’s how the issue needs to be framed.”
“We’re talking about real human beings and real human lives,” he added.