Undocumented in the United States: the Heavy Load of Anguish

Constant fear of separation from her mother, who has an order of deportation and risks being detained by authorities, forms part of the life of Leah, an 11 year-old girl of the U.S.

The child was recently part of a youth caravan of 40 who traveled from the southern state of Florida to Washington DC to call the attention on the anti-immigration policies of President Donald Trump's administration.

'No matter how much you try, you will never break our spirit!', said Leah in a message addressed to the Head of State last April 13 from the front of the White House.

There, participants in that march had the company of children, youths and parents of this capital and also from New York, Colorado, North Carolina, Maryland and Virginia, in an initiative with the slogan We Belong Together.

Leah had the opportunity of sharing with those present that children are strong and will defend their communities and families from hatred. We are here to stay, said the girl who said to be the proud daughter of a domestic worker who has taught her to treat people gently and with respect.

Luna, another participant in the demonstration, assured that Trump does not worry over the 11 million undocumented in the United States and added 'we should unite and make our voices heard'.

I want to protect my community by all means possible. We the youths have the power to resist, united we stand negroes, indigenous and latinos, commented 13-year old Joanna in North Carolina.

According to organizers of the march, many of these kids have been directly affected by deportations and separation of families, lack of investment in their schools and criminalization of friends.

In the opinion of Carmen Rodriguez, undocumented of North Carolina, said the caravan should be the beginning of a great fight of immigrants all over the world.

Slogans such as 'We are here and we won't go and if you throw us out, we will return', and 'The immigrant community is here to stay' distinguished the march.

Other similar initiatives have taken place in different parts of the country. Participants in the march, many from Latin America, mainly Mexicans but also from Jordan, Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan have asked to reform migratory policies and stop persecution by these persons.

On the other hand, democrat members of the House of Representatives presented at the end of March in Congress a bill to forbid authorities from detaining undocumented immigrants in notable public places.

According to its promoters, there has been an increase of denunciations of arrests of those persons in schools, hospitals and places of religious cults.

Legislator for New York, of Dominican origin, Adriano Espaillat and his colleagues José Serrano, also of New York; Suzanne Bonamici (Oregón) and Don Beyer (Virginia) support this bill.

For the U.S. Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, when those cities and states deny to help comply with the law, its country is less secure and such policies cannot continue.

Of the same opinion is U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, John Kelly, who defended last week the workers under his command in face of constant critics due to the migration policies.

Frequently, public officials make fun of them, they offend them and are condemned in the court of public opinion due to unfounded accusations invented by shysters and profesional spokespersons, he added.

Kelly asserted that Congressmen who criticize migration laws should have the courage and skill to change them or, on the contrary, shut up.

Official statistics show that over 21 thousand illegal immigrants, of them some five thousand 500 without a criminal record, have been arrested since Trump took over the White House.

Under the presidency of Barack Obama (2009-2017), the agents had instruction to detain only the immigrants guilty of severe crimes or that for any reason represented a threat to public security.