viva daca. for now.
DACA is one of the saddest damn policies enacted by our jeen govmint. actually, quick bit of history. while obama was president, republicans like marco rubio etc would not sign the DREAM act. a full citizenship bill for immigrants who were brought to the US as children. of no volition. but their parents. outside the formal structures for entering the US.
this means, as dirty and disingenuous republicans like to claim, that they're "illegal". putting asside how stupid that term is—"humans" quite literally cannot be illegal—it's true that their legal status in this country is, hmmm, jeopardized? non-existent? we're not sure how quite to put it. but what are we sure of? it's super fucking cruel. and so fucking dumb.
so anyway, obama tried to be our hero. our pensive please-see-the-best-in-republicans-and-give-them-whatever-they-want-and-one-day-they'll-come-around hero. oh hearts in eyes! whatever you say forever and ever barack! you're so reasonable! you're so thoughtful! you can speak commas! you can speak semi-colons and em-dashes! tell us what to do next!
anyway anyway. through executive order, obama did one of the better things of his presidency. he enacted DACA. or, deferred action for childhood arrivals. which action was deferred, you ask? ICE action. icy action, maybe? yeah. anyway. these kids, if they volunteered their info. if they came out of hiding. would be granted a sort of immunity against deportation. if they paid the appropriate fees and stayed out of trouble and such.
and hey! it worked! except, then obama lost the presidency. and democrats are terrible at elections. at getting and keeping power. and so they lost the senate too. and the house. and, like so many of its recipients, DACA was in jeopardy. trump threatened to rescind it. again and again. and continues to do so. and DACA kiddos live in massive fucking fear. that they'll be sent back to a country they don't remember and have never been to as sentient adults.
why haven't they? well, for the same reason they can't get drunk at a robyn concert and take a leak in an alley. and the same reason they can't ask the officer for proof that they were speeding. and the same reason they avoid too much schooling. and the same reason they fear getting a driver's license. and the same reason they smoke pot *only in their own homes*. and the same reason they avoid bernie sanders rallies. and the same reason they never ever ever ride their bike through a red light. even when there ain't no cars in any direction. and the same reason they just generally avoid guns. as a hobby. and the same reason the keep most of their money in cash.
because they have enormous anxiety every single day that they'll get arrested. and deported. or else detained and beat up. and shit, if they left the country to visit family in mexico. like, if they went to christmas at their aunt and uncle god damn house. they couldn't go back home! all their fucking christmas toys would just be sitting under a tree for fucking eternity! a train, rolling around a track incessantly. waiting for its owner to polish it. and fix a track connection.
ok ok. so i'm angry. i'm way angry. mostly because germán, one of our floor managers, is a DACA recipient. and he's been near tears several times this past year. talking about what trump threatens to do, namely: revoke his legal status.
he's arguably the hardest worker in the house. he knows more about the intricacies of the space than anyone but polly. he starts working before his shift. and when he's sipping on a shift beer after it, with the rest of the shift crew, he's the one who jumps out of his seat to greet a couple who walks in late at night. and wonders what to do next cuz there's no host. he's cleaned crumbs out of the crack in the table out of boredom. he's turned over every single two-top and re-leveled their feet. he works, and he's good. a good god damn human being. and he has to renew his DACA status this year. and the cost to do so has gone up. and is now over $500. but given what i said above, he's not exactly in a position to pay that money.
and so teamed up with the overwhelmingly nice folks at HONEY BUTTER FRIED CHICKEN. our new good friends. and we made a real jeen pizza. garlic cream. green tomato kimchi. honey butter fried chicken. scallywags. and we threw him a big old party. and made mouths water. and worked the f out of the floor on his behlf. and let him play his favorite massage parlor music. and raised the fees for him. VIVA DACA, we said. FOR NOW, we said. until a man (again?) with a heart takes back the executive in this country. and stop threatening it. and maybe even pushes for a full citizenship bill. goddess help us.
but we ain't stopping there!
no!
no no!
we're gonna keep going! we've got a VIVA DACA; FOR NOW party scheduled with MI TOCAYA in march. and with CAFE MARIE-JEANNE in april. and with several more of our restaurant friends as the months wear on toward this ridiculous election.
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