Immigrants Here Join Freedom Ride
An architect by training who once practiced his trade for the United Nations, Sousa decided to drop everything in favor of the food service job at Meriter Hospital he has held since immigrating to Madison so his children could benefit from the American educational system.
But now, Sousa says, he is frustrated with the "wasted talent" of immigrant workers in the United States who often face low-paying, exploitative jobs and a dim future.
So Sousa was one of four Madisonians who boarded a bus Sunday bound for Washington, D.C., and New York as part of the weeklong Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride -- a nationwide journey to rally and lobby lawmakers for changes in national immigration policies. The ride for Sousa and fellow Madison residents Armando Campa, Miguel Osio and Leon Carlos Miranda began Sunday afternoon at the Madison Labor Temple, where they joined riders on two buses from Minneapolis that will make the trip east.
Much of Sousa's frustration stems from the trials and tribulations of his 22-year-old daughter, who graduated from a Peruvian university with a degree in economics before moving to the United States. Despite her training, Sousa said, she must go back to school in the United States before she can expect to begin her career here -- a prospect that has so far proven impossible, given the narrow range of low-wage jobs available to recent immigrants in Madison.
"That's not really what's going to get us further, in terms of contributing to this country," Sousa said through an interpreter.
Instead, it is education -- not low-paying jobs -- that young immigrants like his daughter need to be able to contribute to the future of the nation, according to Sousa.
"First of all, I'm excited about the opportunity to meet other people like me," Sousa said of the voyage, which is scheduled to end Saturday with a rally in New York, where organizers hope to draw 100,000 supporters.
Campa, a native of Mexico who is joining Sousa on the trip, said participating in the freedom ride was not a tough decision.
"It is more like a necessity," Campa said through an interpreter.
Objectives sought by Sousa, Campa and the other freedom riders include:
Amnesty for undocumented workers living in the United States.
Family reunification, or reducing the lag time before immigrants in the United States can bring in family members.
Protection of worker rights on the job without regard to legal status.
These ideals were echoed by elected officials, including Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., who visited a luncheon Sunday before the riders' departure.
Feingold told of the experiences of his immigrant grandfather and his father, who flunked kindergarten twice as a boy in Janesville because his household language was Yiddish. Some people wanted to stop immigrants from entering the United States then, just as they do now, which is a bad choice, Feingold told an applauding audience.
"But this country made the good judgment to accept those immigrants because they built this country in the 20th century," he said. "And we should welcome these families here today."
Reiterating his support for measures such as banning racial profiling and the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, Feingold also drew cheers from the freedom riders and others with his criticism of the controversial U.S. Patriot Act.
"You're looking at the only senator to vote down that law," he said. "And we will change that law."
Frank Hornstein, a Minnesota state legislator who joined the freedom riders on the trek from Minneapolis to Madison, said the immigrant labor cause suffered a considerable setback after Sept. 11.
Before the terrorist attacks, Hornstein recalled, a bipartisan consensus on immigration reform was emerging as President Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox worked together on such policies. But since then, Hornstein said, a more negative attitude has prevailed.
"I think it's largely because people increasingly associate terrorism with immigrants," Hornstein said, citing today's "difficult political environment."
The freedom ride, he said, may be a good opportunity to shift the political pendulum with regard to immigrant workers, who make up a vital cog in the Midwestern and national economic engines.
For an optimistic Sousa, though, the ride already seemed like a success before it even began for him.
"I'm just a simple worker here in Madison who believes in the future of this country," he said.
CALL- IN DAY
Thursday: That's the day organizers of the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride want supporters to call members of Congress and the White House to push them to support better treatment for immigrants.
White House: Toll-free number, 800-321-8268
Congress: Toll-free number, 888-355-3588, ask for a particular representative
More information: Visit www.iwfr.org