The 11 million undocumented people who live in the United States — about two million of whom are Salvadorians — already know that there is finally a light at the end of the uncertainty of their irregular situation. The bipartisan proposal for a migratory reform in the United States Senate has opened up a path to hope for these people, who, looking for a better future, have remained trapped in the limbo of being undocumented.
The process will surely be long, given the intricate disputes that characterize United States politics. However, without a doubt, it is the moment for an integral migratory reform that will legalize their status and give them access to work permits, a permanent residence, and eventually, a family reunion.
The fact that the proposal comes from both sides of the American political spectrum and that it relied on the decided help from President Barack Obama illustrates the importance that the Hispanic community has garnered in American society. The Hispanic community was, to a large extent, the key to Obama’s victory last November. It was also responsible for the Republican debacle and the disaster of the Tea Party, a neoconservative Republican group.
A legalization of our undocumented compatriots will not only bring peace, certainty, and a better life for those in the United States but also for their families in El Salvador and for our economy, in general, which greatly depends on their remittance. Hopefully, this hope becomes concrete and has a happy ending.
Los 11 millones de indocumentados que viven en Estados Unidos –entre los que habrá unos dos millones de salvadoreños– ya saben que finalmente hay una luz al final de la incertidumbre de su situación irregular. La propuesta bipartidista de una reforma migratoria en el senado estadounidense, ha abierto una senda a la esperanza para esta gente que, buscando un mejor futuro, quedó atrapada en el limbo de ser indocumentada.
The message is unmistakable: there are no absolute guarantees and state sovereignty is conditional when it clashes with the interests of powerful states.
Whether George HW Bush or Donald J Trump, Americanimperialism is unabated—the pathetic excuses and the violentshock-and-awe tactics don’t matter; the results do.