“I went to an immigration lawyer and he said, ‘You’re quite young. Find a nice young man and marry him,’ because that’s the only way,” Olubunmi said. Ta. “Instead, we decided to help change U.S. law.”
Tolu Olubunmi (Rebecca Friendly) in Washington DC
Immigration has become an issue in this election campaign, and anti-immigrant rhetoric is on the rise, with some groups trying to restrict the voting rights of naturalized Americans, who make up one in 10 Americans. However, there are few organizations dedicated to serving this growing voter base.
Tolu Olubunmi, who grew up in the United States illegally, is trying to make a difference by sharing her story and encouraging immigrant civic engagement through her new organization, How to Speak American. Mr. Olubunmi’s advocacy is premised on the idea that immigrants pose an opportunity, not a problem, and that this often-ignored group can make a tangible difference in upholding democratic ideals.
Tolu spoke with contributor Michelle Onero about the journey so far and how to realize the potential of this important group and foster better understanding between immigrants and native-born Americans. We discussed our plans.
MICHELLE ONERO: Immigrants, especially undocumented immigrants, have been demonized during this election cycle. You were an undocumented DREAMer but not a DACA recipient. What is the difference?
Tolu Olubunmi: DREAMer comes from a bill that deals with people who came to the United States as children and have no legal status. The DREAM Act, spearheaded by Sen. Dick Durbin, has languished in Congress for decades, despite being necessary and generally popular. DREAMers are American in every way except the paperwork.
In 2012, after Congress failed to pass this much-needed legislation despite years of advocacy by immigrant youth, including myself, President Obama issued a He issued an executive order called the Deferred Action for Action (DACA). The program mirrors the DREAM Act, but because it hasn’t been passed by Congress, it can be challenged in court and is not permanent.
DACA provides relief to undocumented young people who were under the age of 31 when the program was announced on June 15, 2012. A person who enters the United States before the age of 16 and is of good moral character may receive a work permit and is given two permits. – Relief from deportation can be renewed annually. Approximately 834,000 immigrant youth benefit from the DACA program.
The Trump administration tried to end DACA. I went all the way to the Supreme Court, but then I went back to court. We are not accepting new DACA applications at this time, but current DACA recipients can continue to update their status.
I turned 31 four months early, so I didn’t qualify for DACA, but I was able to legalize my status through other means a few years later. The day DACA was announced, I was an immigrant advocate on the cover of Time magazine along with 32 other DREAMers, three of whom didn’t qualify. Still, it was a great moment.
President Obama issued an executive order called the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). …The Trump administration tried to end DACA. I went all the way to the Supreme Court, but then I went back to court.
Tolu Olubunmi Tolu Olubunmi introduces President Barack Obama before his remarks on immigration reform in the East Room of the White House on June 11, 2013. (Amanda Lucidon/Official White House Photo)
Onero: How did you become involved in immigrant advocacy?
Olubunmi: I came to the United States from Nigeria without my parents in 1995 at the age of 14. I was living with my aunt who was supposed to adopt me, but she lost her legal immigration status because she didn’t submit the right documents at the right time. During that time, I attended high school and went to Washington & Lee University on a full scholarship. She was the only woman to graduate with a degree in chemical engineering that year.
After graduating, I learned that the law had changed in 1995 under the Clinton administration, leaving illegal aliens with very limited options for obtaining legal status. I went to an immigration lawyer and he said, Find a nice young man and marry him.” Because that’s the only way. I was heartbroken, but this encounter changed the trajectory of my life. I wasn’t interested in doing something bad to fix something I couldn’t control, so I decided to help change U.S. law instead.
I was also influenced by President Obama’s speech in 2007 when he announced his candidacy. he asked me: If I am an American in every way other than paperwork, what am I contributing to society and democracy? So I began volunteering with the National Immigration Law Center, a nonprofit organization leading the DREAM Act effort. I became their communications specialist on this bill and continued to help them with the various drafts of the immigration bill.
But all the while, I didn’t share my story. When I sat down with members of Congress, I was told that “these people” don’t speak English and that America needs STEM graduates. I was a black woman, an African woman, a STEM graduate, an English speaker, and an undocumented immigrant. I felt compelled to share my story because many members of Congress didn’t even know that people like me existed.
We also wanted to help others share their stories in a safe way. I believe that numbers and statistics have a place, but we first need to help people understand our common humanity, and then we need to enact policy. I was a founding board member of the United We Dream Network, the largest immigrant youth network in the country. Mark Zuckerberg has named me co-founder of a new nonprofit now known as “I’m An Immigrant.” In 2014, we designated June as Immigrant Heritage Month. It continues to be an annual celebration of America as a nation of immigrants.
Working on U.S. immigration policy has been fulfilling and provided me with community, but it doesn’t end at the border. We need to unite across the world to solve this problem and find opportunities.
I was a black woman, an African woman, a STEM graduate, an English speaker, and an undocumented immigrant. I felt compelled to share my story because many members of Congress didn’t even know that people like me existed.
Olubunmi TIME magazine June 2012 cover. (Jean Paul Rozza/TIME)
Onero: How did people react when you started sharing your own story?
Olubunmi: I was deeply ashamed for a long time, but I never projected that same shame onto other DREAMers. We had nothing to do with the decisions made as children, but now we try to make the best of a bad situation.
Coming out publicly as undocumented was difficult. People were shocked because I was seen as American in a way. In college, I belonged to a sorority, worked as a peer counselor, and was just a “normal” person. I was American, but I wasn’t American.
People who heard my story generally gave me a lot of sympathy and support, but I also had terrible things said to me, sometimes to my face, sometimes by men and women in power. The fact that my story is told so many times on the floor of Congress means that the hatred comes from a certain demographic.
Onero: What was the inspiration for your new organization, How to Speak American?
Olubunmi: When I came to America in 1995, like many immigrants, I longed to belong, so I watched the movie Clueless to learn how to speak American. . Many immigrants have their own version of learning to speak American, so that’s where our name comes from. The United States has defined my ideas about democracy and civic engagement, and How to Speak American is a love letter to the country that has given me so much.
I see my work as proof that advocacy, while powerful, has its limits unless it is coupled with the power of voting. How to Speak American is designed to demystify the path to U.S. citizenship, encourage civic engagement among immigrants and refugees, and get them to vote. In 2020, non-Native Americans made up 10 percent of the U.S. electorate. Millions more, about 9 million people, are eligible for naturalization but have not yet done so.
There are campaigns to stop voting, but not many that focus on immigrants and naturalized citizens like me. There is a powerful yet neglected constituency that has the potential to make a tangible difference to our democracy, and we need to encourage their participation.
In 2024, 4 billion people, half of the world, will vote. I’m 43 years old and have never voted in my life. My path to citizenship has been a 30-year journey, but I want to celebrate being able to vote. To become a U.S. citizen, you must pledge allegiance to the United States, and part of that allegiance is voting and participating in our democracy. Civic engagement is the essence of How to Speak American.
“There are campaigns to stop voting, but not many are focused on immigrants and naturalized citizens like me,” Olubunmi said. We need to encourage them to participate. ” (Carrie Hammer)
Onero: What types of activities are included in How to Speak American?
Olubunmi: How to Speak American was originally aimed just at the 2024 election, so we partnered with organizations like the National Partnership for New Americans and HeadCount to support new civil registration and naturalization efforts primarily through online campaigns. supported.
But now, we envision expanding beyond the 2024 election and adapting our messaging to foster democratic engagement around the world. Imagine the impact of “How to speak German” or “How to speak Kenyan”. It will be able to address the unique challenges of those countries and celebrate the spirit of democracy. The How to Speak series is a testament to our enduring belief that citizenship is more than just a legal status. It is the affirmation, belonging and expression of common values and a commitment to a collective future.
The politics of immigration are too often divorced from reality. Until more people with migration experience actively participate, we will continue to see migration as a problem rather than an opportunity. Immigrants are some of the most wonderful human beings. It takes courage, ingenuity, and adaptability to leave everything behind and start over in a new country.
In our country, certain forces are trying to restrict voting by naturalized citizens. But for us, claiming our hard-won rights has never been more important. Civic engagement by new Americans is essential and not incidental to preserving democratic ideals.
The ultimate goal of the How to Speak series is to unite native-born people and immigrants in dealing with the transnational phenomenon of international migration. We spend a lot of time promoting the assimilation of immigrants and refugees, but unilateral integration creates division and isolation. There is much we can learn from each other and what we can do together.
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