Defending American Values

I taught elementary school in Indianapolis for six years before our family relocated to the Pacific Northwest. My last classroom at Bridgeport Elementary School had 24 second graders with 12 different ethnicities. They were the epitome of our American melting pot, and that group of students made me a better teacher and person. It was a class of first-generation Americans, recent immigrants, and 24 children who all deserved the very best this country could offer.

I’ve thought of that class, now all adults, many times over the last several weeks. I wonder where those once gap-toothed, learning-to-tie-their-shoes children are now. I hope their families are safe and that they’ve realized the true meaning of the American dream.

But I worry about them in the current state of our nation. We have a Department of Homeland Security that is fishing for the undocumented, even when they haven’t committed any crimes, and betraying our nation’s professed values. People of color are being swept up in these operations, regardless of their citizenship or immigration status. Americans who look just like my former students are being traumatized by the administration’s obsession with “crime fighting,” while critics see it as a political weapon aimed at the most vulnerable people in our country.

The consequences are fear, trauma, fractured families, and lives torn apart. Beyond the human suffering, there’s clear evidence that targeting undocumented immigrants causes tremendous economic harm. Removing 7 million undocumented workers could reduce the U.S. GDP by 1.4% immediately and 2.6% over a decade, costing the country up to $4.7 trillion in long-term losses. Federal revenues would drop nearly $900 billion, and the national debt would grow by close to $1 trillion. Mass deportations are not an economic solution; they are a disaster.

Undocumented immigrants are neighbors, community advocates, volunteers, parents, small-business owners, and friends. They are also an essential element contributing to our country’s economy: they pay taxes, and fill jobs in agriculture, construction, hospitality, caregiving, and more, while driving demand for housing, goods, and services. Yet this administration’s rhetoric relies on intolerance, painting every undocumented person as a criminal by definition. One look around our communities shows the truth is far different.

The escalation of anti-immigrant actions by our federal government coincided with the nationwide “No Kings Protest” June 14. Across the country, including here in Key Center, protesters took to the streets to demand change and voice opposition to the administration’s policies. The protests reflect a growing majority that rejects deportation theater and military spectacle. Citizens from all backgrounds marched in over 2,000 cities, standing united in defense of their immigrant neighbors. These protests are a reminder that democracy requires moral clarity, not intimidation and force.

But we didn’t arrive here overnight. The U.S. once came close to compromise: the 2013 “Gang of Eight” bill had bipartisan sponsorship, four Democrat and four Republican senators, and passed the Senate but never became law as it failed in the House. It included an effective path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S.

More recently, ahead of the 2024 election, Trump pressured Republicans to withdraw support for another bipartisan immigration bill that included sweeping reforms: expanded border barriers, streamlined asylum processes, codifying DACA, automatic border closure triggers, and faster deportation proceedings.

Our nation remains trapped in a cycle of policy paralysis and political posturing, and human exploitation.

The June 14 protests show that the country is ready for, and urgently needs, immigration reforms that protect our communities and honor the dignity of every person. We need an immigration system that reflects the original American values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Meredith Browand is a mother and activist who lives in Purdy.