two hours of conversation he said, “Frank, we’re working on the same things. Do you agree?” And I responded, “absolutely.” Then he said, “Well let me ask you this, would you be willing to join the ACIJ and its movement?” I looked at him and said, “no.” And he said, “What?” I explained, “No, sir. The question is, are you willing to join me?” Because, you know, I didn’t know him! But it turned out to be a huge and incredible collaboration. We got very active here in Mobile. With the help of local restaurants and various committed leaders, we hosted a breakfast and invited the mayor, the representatives, business leaders, faith leaders, the president of our Chamber of Commerce. I called him and asked him if he would attend, and he said, “I would attend, but I don’t want to speak.” I told him, “Sir, if you walk into that restaurant, you don’t have to speak because your presence will say it all.” And so he came! The sheriff of Mobile County was there, too. There were almost eighty people at that breakfast. That’s when we knew it was the beginning of our movement. How does latest wave of anti-immigration rhetoric from politicians affects immigrants on a grassrootslevel? Are there concrete implications for Donald Trump’s political platform, for example? Yeah, there can be; and I hesitate to say that, because it’s what they want to hear. We know who we are, and we know that there are people who don’t believe we belong here. Up until now it’s been pretty quiet, but the recent rhetoric from a number of politicians is stirring the United States. The extremists are giving out the facts that they think will motivate people, but they’re not facts. For example, the idea of illegal immigrants being eligible for federal benefits – I don’t understand where that comes from, because the truth is that it’s nearly impossible to be able to collect food assistance without proper documents! Regardless, it’s not going to have an effect on us unless we let it. We’re going to be out there protesting for the dignity and respect of all immigrants. We protested for administrative relief at every candidate rally in Alabama. Some people can and will be influenced by the rhetoric (only because they don’t know any better), but we as leaders have to make sure we stand strong. The extremists want to push our buttons, but we’re not going to let it get to us.
What needs to happen in, say, the next 5 years for life to improve for immigrants in the U.S.? A pathway to citizenship has to happen. Of course you’re going to hear people say that it’s happening, that it’s out there. Well, we have a leader involved in our movement who is a professor at Samford University here in Birmingham. Two years ago he told us he was celebrating that he’d received his citizenship, and man, we were so proud! Here’s this guy – he’s out there fighting, being supportive, getting his students involved in the movement. I asked him how long it took, and he said, “fifteen years.” Fifteen years! I can remember when my dad [in the late 70s] got his documentation in less than 2 years. We were proud of the Senate bill 744, it was acceptable. It was something along the lines of “submit an application, wait six years, reapply, wait another six years, and then wait one more year after that.” It would take twelve to fourteen years to go through the system, but it would’ve made a huge impact. I hesitate to say this, but we’d be willing to take that. It’d be an opportunity. And it wouldn’t be an amnesty, because that bill stipulated a fine – anywhere from $500 to $1000. We were out working with groups when that bill passed, and we told people it could cost them $1000 because they broke the law. They didn’t care; they were more than willing to save that money and pay that fine just to have an opportunity. And in terms of an economic impact, if we receive $1000 from six million people ... do the math, the impact is huge. But comprehensive immigration reform really needs to happen.
SENATE BILL: S. 744
The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act – was passed by the Senate in June of 2013. The bill provided a difficult but real opportunity for citizenship and permanent legal status for thousands of immigrants. The process would take multiple steps, various fines and fees, and a waiting period of 13 years, but it was a chance to lower deportation rates and keep families together. However, the bill saw its demise during the 113th Congress after the House of Representatives rejected any kind of immigration reform.
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