After twenty-plus years in the classroom, I don't find myself experiencing a lot of teaching firsts anymore. But today was the first time I began a reply to a student email with "I'm sorry to hear of your [parent's] detention [by ICE]. Please let me know if I can be of help in locating appropriate resources."It's possible, of course, that students have had parents detained or deported before, and they just didn't
mention it. It's also possible that the detained parent will become the dead grandparent of the Trump era, at least among certain demographics. But I'm inclined to trust this particular account, which comes from a student who's been quietly responsible all semester -- not 100% perfect in either attendance or on-time completion of work, but close, and not inclined to offer excuses or ask for exemptions. So I'm inclined to take hir explanation for missing a deadline today at face value: hir parent has been taken away, and (s)he's the only member of the family who can safely follow up with authorities.
So there we are. Add one more roadblock/distraction to the long list of obstacles many of my students face on the way to completing their educations. And in this case, the person whose education is being impeded is a certified medical professional (of the low-paid but very necessary sort) who is studying for a higher certification (which will allow hir to perform a better-paid and equally necessary job). So, whether the student is a citizen or has DACA status, perhaps, just perhaps, this is someone we might like to keep in the country, and on track to finishing college, out of self-interest as well as on principle?
Cassandra, I've been thinking of and praying for your student. May we all be equal to these times.
ReplyDeleteThat is a deeply disquieting thing to have happen. I hope both you and the student peace and a good resolution.
ReplyDeleteThank you both. The student seems to be doing okay -- working on hir draft, attending class. I suspect this is something hir family knew could happen -- which doesn't make it easy, but may make it less shocking than it is for those of us who haven't been dealing with these issues as a constant background worry all of our lives (I'm beginning to think that dealing with insecure immigration status is something like dealing with a chronic but unpredictable disease, or remission from a cancer that's known to recur in many patients; you never know when the shoe is going to drop). If the student has DACA status (as opposed to citizenship), I hope hir choice of profession will provide some additional insulation against deportation (or at last a portable profession). Ze seems pretty determined to finish the degree, which is good; the other danger, I suspect, is getting stuck in the lower-paying profession while trying to deal with the family's immediate financial needs.
ReplyDeleteOf course, all of this puts the travails of more privileged students in perspective. In many cases, they really are dealing with more, in the way of illness or stress or family or relationship difficulties, than they have before, and they really are suffering and struggling to concentrate on their work, but they're also young and sheltered and lack a certain sense of perspective that some of their colleagues have already acquired. So one has to find nice ways to say "that's life," "grow up," etc.