To the editor: Studying Gustavo Arellano’s column on dwelling in a “Prop. 187 America” and seeing the {photograph} of protesters in 1994 jogged my memory of my life at the moment.
I used to be instructing English as a second language at Eagle Rock Excessive College when California voters handed the measure to disclaim undocumented immigrants public providers. I don’t know what number of “illegals” had been in my class, however do know that every one my college students had been striving to study English and have a vivid future.
When the varsity deliberate a expertise present, my college students participated by singing, “This Land Is Your Land.” I believed that was the proper anthem to counteract the anti-immigrant sentiment. They did a beautiful job and had been heartily cheered by the viewers, college and workers.
I additionally informed them of my household who got here right here from Lithuania, kind of illegally. As a result of my great-aunt had trachoma, a critical eye illness, the household may have been deported in the event that they landed at Ellis Island in New York. So as an alternative, my great-grandparents took a ship to Canada and crossed the border into Minnesota, the place they settled in Minneapolis.
Would President-elect Donald Trump have deported them? As of late, it’s doable.
Joanne Serin, Los Angeles
