06/11/2025
My heart is heavy.
The relentless demonization of immigrants in this country — whether here legally or otherwise — is breaking something deep within me. I spent 15 years working in Title 1 and bilingual elementary schools. I’ve seen firsthand the grit, the hope, the determination shining in the eyes of my students and their families. I’ve seen the joy. The resilience. The pride. The deep desire to belong.
These are people who want to be here. They want to succeed. They want to contribute. They want to be a part of this so-called “American dream.” And yet, we’ve made the path to citizenship daunting, dangerous, and in many cases, nearly impossible. Those who would walk that path often hesitate — not out of laziness or defiance, but out of fear. Fear for themselves. Fear for their families. Fear for their communities.
I don’t have the answers. I’m not a policymaker or politician. I’m an educator — one with a bleeding heart and an unwillingness to stay silent in the face of cruelty. But I know this: I will always stand between these families and anyone who would seek to harm, vilify, or dehumanize them.
This hatred must end. This scapegoating must end. This weaponization of fear must end.
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
— Emma Lazarus
