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April 29, 2004 Good evening. I want to begin by expressing my sincere appreciation to the Liberty Hill Foundation for this recognition. It is truly an honor to be recognized by an institution that for so many years has dedicated itself to the transformation of Los Angeles from a city for the privileged and few to one that works for everyone, especially the poor and sometimes hopeless. Without the financial support of Liberty Hill Foundation, the work that you are honoring me for this evening would have been constricted at best. The work of CHIRLA is also enhanced and made stronger because of the many partners and leaders of organizations and unions that accompany our struggle. So, I sincerely thank you for this award and for the support that you provide to so many organizations, that like CHIRLA, are endeavoring to construct equity and justice in communities. The construction of equity and justice is a difficult venture during these times of mass confusion and wanton greed. Everywhere we turn we see those who have the least paying the highest price (losing their jobs, their dignity, their families, or their lives) for the greed of the few and powerful. The situation for immigrants falls in this category. The dirty little secret of this city and this country is that it is taking advantage of a whole population of people, paying them miserable wages without benefits and denying any type of recognition and protection under the law. Immigrants, especially the undocumented are treated as chattel that work the fields, factories, homes and business towers of this country. For this work and sacrifice, the reward for immigrants is a mass categorization as criminals and potential terrorists, and as individuals who can not be trusted with a simple driver's license or identification card. Their children, if undocumented, are denied access to an education beyond high school and forced to live in poverty and obscurity like their parents. This reality puts to shame this country's ideals of equity and fairness. It destroys the notion of an American dream certainly for those immigrants that are so marginalized, but also for each one of us who believe that a different world is possible. Poor and invisible is how immigrants will continue to live if changes are not made to our immigration laws and to our local and state laws where applicable, but most importantly if changes are not made in our hearts and minds. Poor and invisible is how immigrants will live if we do not commit to challenging immigration laws and the whole notion of barring a whole category of immigrants from ever remedying their situation and keeping families separated for years. Change means ensuring that the close to nine million undocumented immigrants be given an opportunity to legalize their status in this country and if they earn it have access to citizenship. Change means allowing their children the opportunity that they have earned to go to college and give back to this country. Change means denouncing those who paint immigrants with the brush of criminality simply for having the courage to uproot themselves and their families from devastating poverty and political turmoil and migrate to this land. Change means enforcing labor laws to protect workers from abusive employers. Change means stopping the trafficking of human beings that result in hundreds of immigrants locked and chained in homes right in our backyard. Change means supporting mass organization today to construct a future of hope, a future of justice for all. Once again I thank you for this honor and am humbled to be in your company and in the company of my fellow awardees, Tom Hayden, Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon and Antonio Manning. Most importantly I thank you for being part of a community for social change and for recognizing through this award the inherent humanity of the immigrant community for whom I work. |
Angelica
Salas' Remarks at