Dear Immigrant Nation,
My name is M. Evelina Galang. I am the daughter of Miguel T. Galang and
Gloria Lopez-Tan Galang, two immigrants who met in an auditorium in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, in the late 1950’s, just as the third wave of Filipinos
arrived in the United States (http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/filipino-immigrants-united-states).
As a child I have watched their struggles. I have seen the discrimination and the
disappointment in their faces. I have heard
their voices late at night, making sense of this so-called dream.
I know firsthand what courage it takes to leave everything
you know, your family, your land, your people, to make this American dream a
reality.
It doesn’t always feel like a dream.
Know I am with you. I
know you. I am one of you. This nation is nothing without you.
The hypocrisy of those Senators and
Congressmen and women who do not stand up to this 45th President
will be the undoing of all of us.
Stand up, Senator Rubio.
Louder, Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen.
Thank you, Senator Nelson.
And shame, shame, shame on you Mayor Carlos Gimenez. Have you forgotten?
I write this letter on the day after Valentine’s Day, my
love letter to you, my people, my nation of first, second, third and
twenty-seventh born generations of Americans.
Let us stand up on the streets, holding our signs.
Let us sit in the offices of our Congresswomen and Senators.
Let us write our love letters to our brother and sisters, to
ourselves.
Let us not forget.
We are a sanctuary nation.
With love and in solidarity,
M. Evelina Galang
