by Cruz-Teresa Rosero
At this moment in America, people are being smothered by anti-immigrant sentiment.
In August, I stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts and ordered, in English, two bagels with bacon, egg, and cheese. The employee gave me a long, strange look, as if analyzing me, and said, “No Spanish.”
I couldn’t believe it! I retorted, “What? I’m talking to you in English.” He looked at me carefully and repeated, “No Spanish.”
Then he called over a Hispanic woman who was preparing orders to help me.
I wanted to leave. I felt humiliated. I felt like, on one hand, I was being discriminated against because of my accent and my Latina appearance, and on the other hand, they were assuming that Hispanics don’t speak English.
I took a deep breath. I said to myself, “Teresa, calm down.” The Hispanic co-worker asked how she could help me. I said, “Thank you for helping me. However, I don’t know why he acted like he didn’t understand me. I’m going to ask you, IN ENGLISH, the same thing I asked him.”
So, again, I placed my order in English! When I picked up the order, she told me, “I’m so sorry he reacted that way. I don’t know why.”
“You know,” I said, “with the tense anti-immigrant situation we have in the country, these attitudes don’t help. Thank you for your understanding. Take care, and God bless you.”
I feel sad, fearful, and worried. Every day, news appears about detained immigrants, many with no criminal record. And some even have legal documents. Their skin color, their facial features, and their accent make them targets for detention, assuming they are undocumented.
Daily, I receive calls or messages from brothers and sisters asking for prayer and telling me their stories. There are those who have requested asylum and have work permits who receive letters stating that their case has been dismissed. There are others who keep their immigration appointments, have their cases dismissed right there, and then ICE detains and arrests them outside.
And there are women who cry because their husbands or children have been detained and arrested by masked agents, without knowing where they’re going, only to learn they’ve been taken to the “Alligator Alcatraz” in Florida, or to other detention centers.
Those who manage to leave, and some who were already deported, recount from their countries the horrors they experienced in the detention centers. Meanwhile, women left alone with their children not only no longer have their primary provider at home, but those children, their family, and friends feel invaded and paralyzed by fear and confusion.
I was also an illegal immigrant at one point. Those were difficult years, but I had the opportunity to get my papers in order. I studied, worked, and always paid taxes. Today, I live on my retirement.
I thank God and this country, which I love with all my heart, for the opportunities it has given me.
If I had been deported, my story would be different. My husband and I have now built a family of 12. We are all contributing to the greatness of this land. My story is that of millions.
On the other hand, today we have millions of immigrants who are living a nightmare. Thousands attend our Sunday Masses. They have dreamed of a better life in a land of peace and freedom.
We all agree that criminals must be sought out and punished, but labelling someone who crossed the border in desperation and is working hard to support their family as a criminal is unfair. And they work so hard.
Studies indicate that undocumented immigrants in the United States contribute billions of dollars in taxes annually at the federal, state, and local levels. According to a 2024 analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), un$96.7 billion in federal ($59.4 billion) and state and local ($37.3 billion ) taxes in 2022.
I agree that millions of us started here illegally because we entered without the required documents and lived so long without them. For my part, I know I had to write a letter asking for forgiveness to the Department of Immigration. Those who managed to process their documents had to do the same.
Unfortunately, today, there is no forgiveness, no mercy, no second chances, even if they are contributing to the greatness of this land. Today, we are statistics — identified by our dark-skinned faces and judged by the bad behavior of a small group.
Before his death, Pope Francis left us the theme for this Jubilee Year: “Pilgrims of Hope.”
Together, united in love, solidarity, and prayer, let us walk with the conviction that God and the Virgin Mary accompany us on our journey. Let us repeat to one another: “Wait for the Lord and be strong; take courage and wait for the Lord” (Psalm 27:14).
Cruz-Teresa Rosero is a member of St. Nicholas of Tolentine Parish, Jamaica.