Sadness

By Paul Yumbla

Scouring the Internet for more personal and compelling tales about immigration reform than simply hearing the argument conveyed through a speechwriter I stumbled upon the following image.

(Source: Scott Olson/Getty Images North America)

The above photograph is of undocumented immigrant Guillermo Campos-Ojeda as he says goodbye to his wife and young daughter before boarding a deportation flight chartered by U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement. I include this tragic image for two reasons. The first is the obvious notion that more people need to see this. The second is the personal element conveyed in this photograph that does more than tug the heartstrings. Images, personal turmoil, and witnessing a family disaster like this allows for this country's broken immigration system to be seen through a different light. It’s something else to see the face of deportation rather than hearing arguments about immigration control come from politicians. These are real people, many of them extremely hard-working and willing to sacrifice a tremendous amount to not only put food on the table but offer their children a brighter future. Many of them are locked away for no other reason but being here illegally, jailed up with all sorts of convicts.