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For a copy of biographies of people who served as presenters at Thursday's immigration forums, click here.
LAS CRUCES - Bernardo Lopez, a New Mexico State University student, and Dora Dorado, of Vado, were among the faces of southern New Mexico residents who said they have experienced social injustices caused by U.S. immigration laws.
Before a large gathering inside Council Chambers at City Hall, they told their stories of how a combination of alleged racial profiling, prejudice and immigration laws have affected their lives. Their testimonials were shared at two immigration forums co-sponsored by an ad-hoc committee of Las Cruces residents advocating immigration reform and the League of Women Voters of Greater Las Cruces.
While Las Cruces city Councilor Olga Pedroza agreed that the tone of the forum was geared more toward opposition to immigration laws, and looked at one side of the issue, she said the forums can serve as starting point for more public education, information and dialogue.
"I'd heard that," said Pedroza, of concerns raised by some
Pedroza added that public criticism advocating for stricter immigration law was a reason why the forums were conducted.
"There's a lot of misinformation out there, and we just wanted to present the facts," Pedroza said.
Pedroza is a former elementary schoolteacher who received a law degree from the University of New Mexico in 1985. She has worked in a private law practice, as an attorney for the state of New Mexico, and was an attorney for Southern New Mexico Legal Aid for 17 years.
Lopez talked about he and a friend, "Victor," who were detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents after ordering a pizza at store before walking home.
"A truck was following us, from the Border Patrol," said Lopez, through an English interpreter. "We didn't give much thought to it because it's typical for us to see those trucks."
However, Lopez added that Victor sensed something "was not right," and they were stopped moments later. Lopez was able to prove that he was a legal U.S. resident, but Victor could not and the circumstances got worse.
"My friend got nervous and started to give fake names," Lopez said. "He gave a cousin's name because he knew the Social Security number.
"After (Border Patrol agents) checked, they came back with the result that the Social Security number matched that of a person who had been charged with the illegal transportation of drugs. Victor had never been involved with drugs, he was a college student. Sadly, he was only 1åyears from getting his degree in electrical engineering."
Victor was ultimately deported and now lives in Zacatecas, Mexico, where he works at a minimum-wage job, hundreds of miles away from his family in New Mexico.
"The hardest part came when I had to tell his parents what happened," Lopez said. "They were upset and crying because they didn't know where he was taken, or what they could do to help him, because they were undocumented themselves."
Dorado, 56, told how she and her father legally immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico in 1970. Their hopes were to bring other family members to the U.S., and many of them were able to immigrate.
But a lot of hopes ended there.
"We were destined to work and not to go to school," said Dorado, also through an interpreter. "There was nobody to give us guidance, to tell us we could go to school. Our family's philosophy was that we would be very hard working, very respectful of people."
But the family trait of common courtesy wasn't returned for years, and that's something that has affected other immigrants who live in southern Do-a Ana County, she said.
"There are many people who now think twice about helping anyone in the colonias because they're afraid they're going to be associated with undocumented residents," said Dorado, who works as a "promotora," a Spanish word for "promoter," or someone who advocates for better lifestyles for residents living in colonias, which are unincorporated communities that lack basic infrastructure, such as paved roads and wastewater systems.
Delano Lewis, interim dean of International and Border Programs at New Mexico State University, said the forum brought a lot of immigration issues to light.
"That's why education, information and dialogue is so critical," Lewis said. "We covered fact, laws, and ethics. I firmly believe that immigration is one of the critical issues of our time."
Steve Ramirez can be reached at (575) 541-5452
Education, information and dialogue
•Two immigration forums were conducted Thursday at City Hall.
•The forums were sponsored by a citizens ad-hoc committee on immigration and the League of Women Voters of Greater Las Cruces.
•The forums focused on the legal aspects of immigration, economics related to immigrants, ethics involving immigrants and some of the social injustices experienced by some immigrants.
