Peering behind us through the fog,
To the past, from present day.
I wonder what our forefather’s would think.
I Ponder what they might say.

Their incredible design,
A melting pot we would be.
Oppressed in other lands,
“In the U.S.A.  you ‘ll be free!”

In just over two hundred years,
My oh my how things have changed!
The wisdom of simplicity becomes complex,
Hearts hardened and rearranged.

Wars, partisan politics, and fear
We’ve become adept, wielding the sword.
The wealthiest nation on the planet,
We’ve idolized the necessity to hoard.

What are we attempting to keep?
Our motives seem rather odd.
Hope cannot be quarantined.
Giving freely is the essence of our God.

Fences, raids and deportation
“Keep them out! Take them away!”
The heart of America has spoken!
Evidencing hardness, and decay.

The songs of history seem to change -
Echoing the soul of our nation.
Perhaps it’s time to change our tune -
Sing a new harmony about U.S. immigration.

This new tune will require unlearning,
Poor attitudes we have sung in the past.
Our concert performances can be revamped -
Orchestrated with love; destined to last.

Lift your voice today my friends,
Belt out love from your heart.
A love for the other,
Those filled with hope for a new start.

It’s time to sing a new tune America -
A harmony that moves beyond all the confusion.
We can and must sing a new song,
Or remain mired in immillusion.

Lurking covertly,
Within the shadows of a doubt.
Dubiously suspicious,
If we will ever work this out.

Befuddled and betrayed,
Thrashing amidst waves of confusion.
Is U.S. immigration reform a mirage?
Have we succumbed to Immillusion?

Perhaps, I’m simply naïve;
A citizen who believes we must solve this thing.
I believe in liberty and justice for all.
The day we let freedom ring!

Streets filled with joy and laughter.
Our nation’s heart reflected on our face.
Celebrating citizenship for the others among us,
Surrendered to the extension of God’s grace.

Millions enduring unnecessary oppression,
Counting on us for their release.
We hold the keys to their cells,
Unlocking citizenship will be our peace.

A nation suffering from cardiovascular disease,
Well known as hardness of the heart.
We espouse freedom and democracy abroad,
As immillusion continues tearing us apart.

Counterintuitive as it may seem,
The notions I ponder as I pray.
Perhaps it’s not what we must keep,
But what we shall decide to give away.

The malady of immillusion,
Clogs the arteries of our Nation’s heart.
The cure may require a dietary change,
Giving thanks may be a start.

Vision is a must.
Solutions begin as a mirage.
It’s time for innovation
Not park it in a garage.

Ten to twenty million,
Nobody has a solid number.
His creations are in our midst!
God, awaken us from our self-righteous slumber.

Unforgettable lessons,
Voices from our Nation’s past.
Once again, I yearn to hear the voice that cries,
“Thank God Almighty, We are free at last.”

He is here. He is among us.
Weeping over our confusion.
God Almighty please forgive us!
Lead us out of the land of Immillusion.

Millions living among us.
Children walking to school.
Pledging allegiance to our flag,
Wondering about the Golden Rule.

Gray market employment,
Wages less than fair.
Economically exploited
Do U.S. citizens really care?

Separate and unequal.
Millions forced to hide.
Living and breathing hope,
The reality of immipartheid.

Liberty and justice -
For some but not for others.
Tears flow from the hearts,
Of undocumented fathers and mothers.

Legislative limbo,
Has established a segregated people.
The majority gathers on Sunday,
To worship beneath the steeple.

Self-righteous, fear-laden fervor,
Legitimizes what observers find so odd.
Is legislated oppression
Condoned by Almighty God?

Mere existence in our midst,
Adjudicated guilty without trial.
Tolerating our own intolerance,
Comfortable in our denial.

Illegal’s, criminals and aliens -
Terms used to demonize their plight.
As undocumented men and women,
Clean America’s offices at night.

Powerless to advocate an outcome.
Silently adrift in this life’s boat.
Perhaps we might lend a hand,
They’ve earned the right to vote.

What about the bi-lingual students,
Those who excel in English, science and math?
Teachers for the next generation,
Absent citizenship’s path.

Excuse, piled upon excuse -
Buried in dishonest justification.
Eliminating immipartheid
Shall provide oxygen to our Nation.

Let’s wipe out immipartheid,
Courageously approach this fundamental task.
Let’s lift the veil that obscures the truth,
We can’t hide behind racism’s mask.

Building our homes, harvesting our crops
With hammers, picks, hoes, and axes.
Employers take deductions from their pay
And fail to remit the taxes.

Counterintuitive as it may seem,
Our attitudes must make a shift.
Unraveling immipartheid,
May contain our greatest gift.

Children of One Maker,
Created equal one and all.
We mighty one’s must bend,
To help the disadvantaged when they call.

Can we continue going on,
Looking the other way?
Unwilling and unrepentant,
Is Immipartheid here to stay?

The whole world is watching.
Will our hollow slogans become action?
Resolving immipartheid,
Restores U.S. integrity with traction.

The duplicity of it all,
Is the essence of what I abhor.
“Liberty and Justice for All!
Yet, immipartheid we ignore.

Oh, sweet land of the free.
Home of the brave.
Let’s eradicate immipartheid!
This must become our rave.

Rise up America!
It’s time to face the blame.
Rid our land of this disease.
Immipartheid is its name.

Across the border
We fled one black sky night.
Bundled in the arms of a parent,
Confused and paralyzed with fright.

Too young to understand,
Where this journey will ultimately lead.
Just following the hopes of mom and dad,
To a place where their dreams for something better might succeed.

Too young to stop and argue,
Too dependent to stay in Mexico alone.
What’s a child to do?
But trust, unable to discuss or bemoan.

Today, there are things they didn’t tell me.
Things I wish I would have known what they meant.
Things that now confront me,
In this country I call “home,” where I was brought without my consent.

I’m about to graduate from high school,
I obey the golden rule.
The United States is the only home I know,
To our flag I pledge heartfelt allegiance, Why then are it’s laws so cruel?

My friends in school have jobs,
Saving for college, they work so hard.
I want to work so badly,
But have no Social Security card.

My friends, we like to go places together
Teenage fun makes me feel alive.
We have to take the bus,
The Governor withholds the license I need to drive.

Some friends have asked me to join them on a family vacation
Trips to Hawaii, Washington D.C., and even Spain.
I have to tell them “I can’t make it,”
I’m without the government issued ID, necessary to board a plane.

My family needs better medical care,
During the rain this week, I wish I had a coat.
My mother and father deserve real employment,
Gosh, I wish that I could vote!

When I read my history books,
The migration from places called HopeLESS to HopeFULL fill it’s pages.
We just did what millions of others have done,
Can you explain what I’ve done wrong that cause politicians to fly into rages?

I have three younger sisters, all born in the U.S.A
I adore them oh so deeply however, it doesn’t make much sense.
How we live as one loving family and They’re citizens,
while my parents and I are undocumented immigrants.

My sisters, they see my tears
We pray this injustice will be healed.
We’re really not asking for much,
Just a level playing field.

Don’t tell me I should “go back,”
To Mexico to wander and to roam,
Don’t suggest I shut my mouth,
This is America! It’s my home!

I don’t want your sympathy,
My plight today never was my choice.
Although we would truly appreciate it,
If you would raise your voice.

There are millions of children just like me,
Whose hopes are unjustly contorted.
We can’t march or demonstrate,
For this we’ll be deported.

When I rise to pledge the American flag,
Mounted on our school wall.
I wish you could feel my heart leap,
When I speak “liberty and justice for all.”

My heart, it sings a song throughout each day,
It’s I Still Have a Dream by Dr. King.
The tears I let my sisters see,
Flow whenever I hear his voice cry, “Let Freedom Ring!”

You might find it silly,
To be inspired by America’s past.
It’s the basis for my hope, as I await the words today of Dr. King
“Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

Note:

This poem is written for the students in Santa Ana, CA that my wife and I have the privilege to live life with. It is written with their tears, desires, energy and compassion.

Discrimmigration
Infects our nation.
Millions march
In demonstration.

Congress paralyzed
In consternation.
What might stop
This humiliation?

National Guardsmen deployed to the border,
Build those fences high.
Half-baked partisan political solutions,
Permeate pie-in-the-sky.

Elections on the horizon,
Incumbents don’t know which way to turn.
More bodies fall in the Arizona desert,
Yes, hope can die and burn.

Where’s Vicente Fox?
His people continue to flee.
Let’s not overlook a dimension of this dialogue:
Mexico’s responsibility.

“There’s nothing we can do.
It’s not our responsibility.”
Such is Mexico’s load of nonsense
That delays the plan for a self-sustaining economy.

Instead of wiring money to family in Mexico,
Send Vicente Fox a straightforward letter.
“Prepare a five year plan,
It’s about time you made things better!”

Rallies, marches and bullhorns in the U.S.
The voices becoming hoarse.
When will Mexico’s citizens rise up?
Confronting the bitter reality that Mexico is the source.

It’s time for the Mexican citizenry
To awaken from their siesta.
A nation wracked with poverty,
Is no reason for a fiesta.

It’s easy to focus on all the wrong things,
Struggling with the illegal immigration solution.
I wrote this little poem
So we won’t overlook the need for a Mexican revolution.

It’s tempting to deal only with the obvious,
Neglecting the causes that impact our nation.
While the government of Mexico
Hides silently in the shadows of discrimmigration.

There’s an issue I’d like to discuss.
One filled with tribulation.
It involves millions of innocent kids,
Who reside within this nation.

Carried into this country by their parents.
Without comprehension or consent.
Far too young to understand,
The implications this journey might represent.

A day arrives for each of them,
One nobody ever discussed or disclosed.
A day their parents hoped would never come,
Unanswered prayers are now exposed.

For years they’ve pledged allegiance to our flag.
“The United States of America,” they proclaim.
When ready to contribute as a young adult we say,
“You’re undocumented! That’s a shame.”

When we discuss this issue,
Out come the myths that sharpen rhetoric’s axes.
“The undocumented don’t pay their way.”
Honestly, the SSA holds $20 billion in “suspense file” taxes.

“The undocumented are a burden.
They’re a cost we can and must erase.”
Actually, their contributions far exceed the costs.
It’s just another myth that we must face.

“They’re taking all our jobs!
What is happening to this nation?”
Many are hired in industries desperate for labor,
Victims of our own economic exploitation.

“Their parents don’t speak our language.
Let’s round em up and ship em out.”
Historically, each wave of immigrants to this country
Have been stereotyped with this same suspicion and doubt.

“There’s a very simple answer.
We’ll build a high tech fence!”
One-dimensional solutions to this matter
Are shortsighted and profoundly dense.

As you move through all the myths,
Clouds of confusion begin to part.
There’s a place we must begin,
It’s deep within your heart.

It’s part of the soul of this nation,
Some say it’s rare and out of fashion.
It’s time to dust it off and bring it out.
For these kids, let’s dispense compassion.

Let’s drop the veil of justifiable anger,
Self-righteous attempts to conceal racial discrimination.
Let’s grant U.S. citizenship to these kids.
They’re an indispensable part of the future of this nation.

Unconvinced, we can’t let them in.
Uncertain what to do with sin.
Unsettled because they are here.
Undue stress of misdirected fear.

Unbelievable, the insensitivity of man.
Unwilling to do all we can.
Unconscious of the opportunity to rise above,
Unjust policies that can be slain with love.

Unswerving loyalty to a partisan creed.
Unabated cries of those in need.
Undisturbed, is how we prefer to live.
Unconscionable, man’s inability to forgive.

Unbalanced adoration of power and might.
Uncomfortable adjustments required to do what’s right.
Uncertain about the legitimacy of a border fence and gate.
Unbearable guilt over ungodly hate.

Unearth in us, the will to stand tall.
Unspeakable injustice harms us all.
Unfortunate inequities cast a vast pall.
Unfounded self-righteousness blinds us all.

Under the lies, truth has a face.
Uncommon courage, it’s name is Grace.
Underscore the urgency in this nation.
Undo the injustice of Immigrace-un.

Perceived as the enemy,
We unleash a deadly torrent.
Destroying our own brethren,
Nothing’s more abhorrent.

We pulled the trigger at a distance.
Closer, we would have recognized our brothers.
Avoiding the notification of next of kin,
The screams of sisters, fathers, children and mothers.

Oh, unholy distance!
The space that separates us all.
May God help us close the gap,
Before more innocent victims fall.

This fear that permeates our land,
A terrorist threat lurking behind every day.
Living in a locked and loaded world,
Is this paranoia here to stay?

The war on terror in Iraq,
The other in Afghanistan.
The reassurance of our elected officials,
“We’re doing the best we can.”

Although the combat is “over there,”
Exterminating insurgents who assault law and order.
Heightened vigilance about worldwide threats to our safety,
Now permeate the domestic dialogue about our border.

Within the wounded soul of this nation,
Hell bent on eradicating terror.
We’re wounding those within our own communities,
Tragic examples of this error.

They are the band of resident undocumented immigrant native students.
It’s easier to use an acronymn; I’ll refer to them as B.R.U.I.N.S.
America is the only country they have ever known,
Their dreams of contributing to the future of this nation lay in ruins.

Most of them came from Mexico,
Infants in the arms of mom or dad.
Led by visions of a better life,
Overcoming obstacles that would make most raving mad.

Today they’re proud, young Americans,
Without passports, social security cards, or a license from the DMV.
Innocents caught in the cultural crossfire,
Immobilized in the chaos, face down in the DMZ.

They’re the determined ones in college classrooms,
Legally denied a federally funded scholarship.
Standard issue for the battle we deny them,
Assuming higher education is a privilege they will skip.

Enlisted as participants in this nation,
Consent or dissent was not their choice.
Remember, they were drafted as defenseless infants,
When will we recognize their voice?

Surveying the threat in a battlefield of faces,
Separating friendlies from the liar.
Oh merciless obsession with war on terror,
Forgive us for creating victims of friendly fire.

T’was the weeks before Christmas
And all through this nation
Not a fingers been lifted,
To address the injustice of illegal immigration.

The obsession at the moment, is on the fear of terror,
Lost in the madness is our duty to make life a bit fairer.
While millions of immigrant families live working scared,
Hoping they’ll awaken some day in a nation that cared.

The children of illegal immigrants are all snuggled in their beds,
While visions of deportation dance in their heads.
No stockings are hung by any chimney anywhere,
They can’t afford socks, as employment opportunities are gray-market and rare.

Momma doesn’t own a “kerchief,” and daddy has no cap,
We sleep two in each bunk bed, even when we nap.

We live in high- density housing,
there’s a constant din of traffic noise and clatter
It would take a lot more than a herd of  Reindeer
To rouse our family to go out and see what’s the matter.

In our neighborhood if we hear something loud, like a crash
We dive for cover on the floor in a flash,
We have bars on our windows, no shutters or sash.

The moonlight illuminates the thugs, on the corners below
They never go away, just blend into the shadows they know.
When what to my broken heart did appear?
The realization that we’ve been ignored, for a whole ‘nother year.

As infants we came,
In the arms of mom and dad across the border.
No Child Left Behind?
Can someone please resolve this unjust disorder?

In my neighborhood, when you see a car drive erratically,
With a driver who’s speeding real quick.
“Dive for cover! It’s a drive-by in progress!”
It’s surely not some bearded white guy named “Saint Nick.”

Our President proclaims, “No child left behind!”
If he came to Santa Ana, we would ask if he’s deaf, dumb and blind.
If he took time to meet me, my family and folks of our kind,
He’d see the exceptions that this slogan treats so unkind.

Today I woke up, to the sound of my mother’s scream.
This is no exaggeration. This was no dream.
My father was unconscious, he was motionless and looked lost.
He hadn’t had his insulin, because of the cost.

My hope is some day soon,
Our country will confront this ongoing shame.
We need responsible leadership, I can call them by name;

“Now, Bush! Now, Cheney! Now, Schwarzenneger and Boxer!
On, Frist! On Biden! On Villaraigosa and Pulido!
To the floor in Sacramento! To Congressional roll call!
Do the right thing! Dash away this shame that casts this great pall!
Demonstrate to the world we mean it when we say, “Liberty and Justice for ALL!”

Just as the winds disperse pollution from America’s skies,
These leaders have the power, to wipe the tears from millions of eyes.
I dream of the day, when truth replaces sound bites and lies.
When half-baked appeasements give way to the freedom we must realize.

The day when up to the Hill top, our leaders will fly
With comprehensive legislation, forget that St. Nicholas guy.
And then, in a twinkling, you’ll hear from our heart.
This flag I have pledged all these years, has been my only home from the start.

Please, no more prancing and pawing, yet another legislative spoof.
Let’s resolve this issue head-on, instead of wandering around on the roof.
I envision the day, as I’m turning around,
Tapping on my shoulder is President Bush, without a sound.

He is dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
His cowboy hat and clothes are all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of legislation he has flung on his back,
He asks me for a pen, as he’s opening his napsack.

His eyes — how they twinkled! His dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
He smirked and chuckled when he said,
“Lame duck? I’ll show those Democrats and John Kerry!”

His drawl was clearly Texan, sporting a cowboy-like bow,
Dick Cheney stood behind him, his face, white as snow;
A ballpoint pen Bush held tight in his teeth,
There was a halo that encircled his head like a wreath;

Cheney had a broad face and a rotund round belly,
That shook, as he stood in our doorway, like a nervous bowl full of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, not at all glad to see ya.
He recoiled for a moment when momma offered him a tortilla.

President Bush and I laughed when we saw this,
Cheney really didn’t know what to think,
“Are you really going to sign this executive order George?”
President Bush looked up, and gave me a wink.

“I’m sick of the bickering. It’s time to do the right thing.
Barbara reminded me that No Child Left Behind,
Includes those brought here illegally as infants. How could our nation be so unkind?
To overlook these innocent victims you’d have to be out of your mind!”

“The bills now in our Congress,
Focused on guest workers and building the fence.
What about the fate of all these innocent children?
How could America be so hard-hearted and dense/”

With a quick glance and a flick of his pen,
“Yes I am Dick,” “this is how this term in Congress will end.”
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
“Amnesty for the children!” he said with a smirk.
“Forgive my friend. Dick, sometimes he’s a jerk”

And laying his finger to the side of his nose,
To the TV cameras he saluted as he rose;
He sprang to his feet, to Carl Rove gave a whistle,
And away they all flew, like fuzz atop a thistle.

I heard him exclaim, as the motorcade drove out of sight,
“Felice Navidad to all, and to all a goodnight!”