By BRENDA RINCON/Coachella Unincorporated
COACHELLA, Calif. – The immigration issue is not about numbers for Esperanza Navarro. As she watched President Obama’s immigration reform speech yesterday, she could not help but think about her recently deported uncle.
“I don’t have any statistics or research or backing, but [immigration reform] is very personal and real for me,” said Navarro, 24, youth coordinator for Building Healthy Communities. “I feel it’s been back and forth with this administration. We’ve been waiting a long time, and I just don’t want to be disappointed again…but I am hopeful.”
That sentiment was echoed by the Eastern Coachella Valley residents who gathered to watch the President outline his plan for comprehensive immigration reform yesterday. With a similar plan unveiled the day before by a bipartisan group of Senators, it seems that long-awaited immigration reform is imminent – but while they are hopeful, this group of residents isn’t holding their breath.
“There is a saying in Mexico that may apply here,” said Mario Lazcano, 63, immigration activist and leader of El Comité Latino. “Del plato a la boca se cae la sopa (the soup can spill from the plate to the mouth).”
In other words, there are many things that could derail the proposed reforms before they come to fruition.
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