Recently I had the honor to attend graduation exercises of the New America Schools, a charter secondary educational system made up of three high schools in the Denver area. The alternative education system is dedicated to serving students from immigrant connected families that are overlooked or do not relate to traditional high schools and the opportunities they offer for their study and learning.
The speakers at the event, especially the students leaders, chose to offer their stories in English and Spanish. The eager faces of parents and family that filled the auditorium received the words with enthusiasm demonstrating the great value the community places on education as a most significant step in their American journey.
Participating in the event caused me to think about the current immigration issues as well as the fact that this matter has had a strong political side to it since the first European settlers came to the continent. Yet we have managed to accept new people in relatively large numbers because their net value as drivers of progress is one the major secrets of the country’s great success.
The initial wave of immigrants to the American continent came seeking asylum from religious tyranny as Christianity was still undergoing major changes in Europe. To this category was added those represented by the Statue of Liberty that came to work and find economic opportunity and those displaced by the country’s western movement encapsulated in a concept called Manifest Destiny.
I attended the event with a Venezuelan colleague that is also an immigrant. To me and others, he represents what is possible for the immigrant community that values education as he comes to us with a doctorate from a prestigious American university. During the course of the evening, I asked him about his ideas and involvement with the current wave of immigrants coming from his home country. He related a feeling of confusion as to their need because so many of them were doing well in Venezuela before they were forced to seek asylum.
That immediately made me think of the Cuban community and their journey to the United States. The well-to-do were the first to immigrate and find a home in our country. They were welcomed with open arms and a national policy on immigration was implemented just for them. In practical terms, all that refugees escaping from Cuba had to do was to set foot on any part of the United States in order to receive immediate legal status.
The Cuban community went on to become an important part of the wealth generating infrastructure of the American economy. But I still remember the deep anger many in the Chicano Movement felt toward Cubans because immigrating Mexicans with “more cultural and historical rights” to be here, had to wait in line.
Aside from the asylum seekers and those that come to this country to work, there is a significant and growing number of immigrants, especially Mexicans, that are seeking to return to their country of origin. Their relative success in the United States and the new opportunities in Mexico appear to be attracting their return.
Over the centuries, immigration in the North American continent has taken every direction: East to West, West to East, North to South and South to North as it is now. At every turn, immigrants have largely brought fresh energy that revitalized their new homes.
Those were my thoughts as the new graduates received their diplomas. I shared in their joy because it matters.
The views expressed by David Conde are not necessarily the views of La Voz Bilingüe. Comments and responses may be directed to News@lavozcolorado.com.
