Mixed-status families and why you should support the Fast for Our Future

I spent Sunday afternoon walking around the historical Olvera Street portion of Downtown Los Angeles. Along with me were Sofi and her parents, who belong to the more than ten percent of families in the United States that are considered mixed-status households. That’s her on the picture above, posing in front of a mural.

Starting 21 days before the election, approximately 100 fasters have been on a hunger strike to express their commitment and urge others to pledge to vote for immigrant rights, until they get the support of 1,000,000 people to stop the raids, and return to a healthy discussion about the contributions of immigrants to our nation, and the need for humane immigration reform. IDEPSCA, whose banner is pictured above, is one of the sponsoring organizations of this action, which is known as the Fast for Our Future. Here, Sofi points to some of the tents where the hunger strikers were resting:

That afternoon, some of the fasters were on their 4th day of fasting, and they have now accrued seven days with nothing but water. Dolores Huerta visited the fast yesterday, and Maria Elena Durazo from the LA County Federation of Labor is set to make a stop on Friday. For symbolic purposes, Sofi also penned her John Hancock in one of the pledge forms, practicing her newly acquired ability to write her own name.

It was a great afternoon overall. While Sofi might not realize, in her infant innocence, how divided her country is over immigration reform, I hope that if you are a supporter of human rights for all immigrants, you will adhere to the cause of the fasters and sign the pledge. You need to do this now, by visiting the website for The Rise Movement

Lastly, you can read about mixed-status families on this report by the Urban Institute. In the same way that we fight for the DREAM Act out of Underground Undergrads, let's remember the millions of families like Sofi's who should be given a chance, and welcome into this country.

She's committed.