A COUNTRY FOR ALL (THE INVISIBLES)

«Nobody notices them. Sometimes they pass right in front of us, and we look through them as if they were not there. But they are here, and the United States would be a very different country without them. People don’t realize just how important they are to our way of life.

Those who go through each day unseen are undocumented immigrants. The invisibles.

They go out of their way not to be noticed by authorities or counted by census takers. It’s not always easy to distinguish exactly who is an immigration agent. In order to avoid the risk of making a mistake, they talk to no one.

They stay away from the police. The invisibles keep their distance from them, even though many times they need protection from the violence of those who want to do them harm. The less they’re seen, the greater the chance that they will be left alone to work and earn their wages in peace.

They live in the shadows. Being seen is a great risk and could mean deportation from the country that they have called home for years, the country where their children were born and, for many, their grandchildren too.

They live in silence. They don’t often complain, though they certainly have reasons to. Complaints lead to questions. Questions lead to trouble.

When we cross paths with them on the street, they quickly avert their eyes. Not being is their way of being. For them, not having an identity is their identity.

Nevertheless, the United States could not function without their labor. They do this country’s most difficult, least desirable, lowest-paying work. They clean what nobody else will clean, harvest the crops no one will harvest, cook our food and build our houses.

They accept working conditions that no legal citizen can imagine. They don’t have the benefit of minimum wage; it’s unheard-of for most. They don’t get health insurance, do not have labor organizations to support them, and operate under the perennial threat of being unjustly fired or reported to Immigration Services and thus deported–often forced to leave children behind.

Despite all the negative things that are said about them –that they’re criminals and terrorists– we let them into our homes, we allow them to clean up after us, and we even them care for our children.

They came here in search of opportunities that are absent in their native lands. And that is exactly why, even though grants are the strongest, bravest, most innovative, most persistent, most courageous, most devoted individuals you will ever meet. And each is fully committed to doing whatever it takes to succeed in the United States.

But the cost is great. They become invisible. And now the time has come to offer them the recognition, respect, and, eventually, the visibility they deserve: the opportunity to coexist with us.

There is no better source of self-esteem than being seen, and being recognized for your labor, without feeling fear and without being forced to avert your eyes.»

(From the book A COUNTRY FOR ALL by Jorge Ramos, an Emmy Award-winning journalist, syndicated columnist, and author of nine previous books. Ramos anchors the nightly news and hosts a weekly political show on Univision, the country’s largest Spanish-language television network. He regularly appears on ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN to discuss immigrant rights. Born in Mexico City, Ramos has lived in the United States for more than twenty-five years.)