Words are cheap. Where’s funding for immigrants’ legal defense?

As an immigrant, naturalized American citizen, and teacher at Fresno Unified School District, I was glad to see the Fresno City Council acknowledge, as part of its “Immigrant Heritage Month Proclamation,” that immigrants and refugees contribute to the “vitality of the city and state economies.”

I must confess, however, that two weeks ago I was deeply disappointed with some of the council members, when the majority chose not to support a legal defense fund. This fund would have provided legal support for undocumented families. The fund is meant to support the people who are invisible in our community, and people who have few, if any, resources.

These are the same people who work in the fields from sun-up to sundown to provide the fruits and vegetables that nourish our families. This council vote was a missed opportunity to invest in some of the hardest-working people in our community.

Perhaps next time the council members have a similar opportunity, they will be bold, show compassion and stand up for those who, in their own words, contribute so much to the “vitality of the city and state economies.”

This story was originally published July 1, 2017 at 4:45 PM with the headline "Words are cheap. Where’s funding for immigrants’ legal defense?."