I was only 22 years old in the year 2000, when I left my 4-year-old daughter in Nicaragua to come to the United States. It was not an easy decision, but the economic situation in my country had deteriorated drastically after Hurricane Mitch, which killed more than 3,000 people. We needed a chance for a better life.
My husband and I settled in Florida and were eventually able to bring our daughter Christell to the U.S. I am proud to say that today she is a teacher, and my younger daughter Leah is only 17 and has already been an activist for many years. I love this country, but because of an unfair and confusing immigration system, it has often been difficult to live and raise a family here.
We need Congress to pass permanent protections and a pathway to citizenship for all immigrants. But while we continue to put pressure on Congress, we also need the Biden administration to act now to extend and redesignate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Nicaraguans.
TPS is a provision under which the government grants protection from deportation to people from?certain countries afflicted by natural disasters, war or other dangerous conditions. It can help families like mine — families that are an important part of their communities and of this country.
Over the years, I have worked very hard to make a living in the U.S. and contribute to my community. I took home health aid classes that allowed me to work with seniors who helped me learn English. I loved the work and wanted to become a nurse, but because of my immigration status, I could not get the student loans I needed and had to give up on that dream. Even my daughter Christell, who came to the U.S. as a child and has some protections under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, could not get in-state tuition in Florida, where she has lived most of her life.
When I found that out about Christell’s tuition, I knew I had to do something. I started crocheting and selling baby clothes, but it was not enough to pay for classes, so I decided to join the immigrant rights movement with Dreamers’ Moms, trying to reach politicians and journalists to tell them how hard it was for DACA recipients to go to college. Eventually we won in-state tuition for our children! But there was so much more that needed to change.
Today, I am a community organizer with the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a Quaker organization committed to social justice, peace and humanitarian service. We work for changes to immigration policy, like the expansion of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and a pathway to citizenship for all immigrants. We also work with our communities to support farmworkers and young people to end the detention of immigrant children.
I have lived in Florida for the last 22 years. I pay taxes, volunteer and contribute to my community. But because of my immigration status, I cannot realize my dream of buying a duplex for me and my daughter. I cannot become a nurse despite a massive nursing shortage in this country. I still live in fear of deportation to Nicaragua, where the situation has in many ways gotten worse.
I am just one of millions of immigrants who contributes to the U.S. economy. In 2019, billions of dollars in federal taxes were contributed by immigrant-led ($330.7 billion), undocumented-led ($18.9 billion), and DACA recipient-led ($3.4 billion) households across the country. A lot of these individuals cannot even claim tax returns and are continuously in fear of deportation. While the Biden administration has taken some steps toward protecting immigrants, such as expanding TPS to other countries, more needs to be done.
The Biden administration and our congressional leaders have fallen far short of their promises to immigrant communities, which does a disservice to the country as a whole. Action to keep our families together is long overdue.
Bertha Sanles, of Miami, is a community organizer with the American Friends Service Committee.
