Thursday night I answered an email from my friend David at the Human Rights Campaign to volunteer with a United States Citizenship Naturalization Workshop in East Los Angeles at Our Lady of Talpa Church Saturday at 8am, showing up to register at 7:30am. I'm one who's never been to East LA and had all these images painted in my mind from Cheech and Chong movies. I also had this idea that East LA was full of gangbangers, prostitutes, illegal aliens who only spoke spanish and no english ,etc. I was SO WRONG!!!
I took the 720 Rapid bus over the concrete waterway we call the LA River via the white bridge from 6th Street that becomes Whittier Blvd. I was going to ride to Lorena Street but decided to get off on Soto Street.
My first time in East LA, fresh off the 720 Metro Rapid bus at Whittier Blvd & Soto...EAST LA!
I walked north on Soto Street & there were alot of people out, all very kind & greeted me on passing by. Very friendly. I turned east on 4th Street and went past Roosevelt High School to the church on Evergreen & 4th. Upon arriving I wandered into the sanctuary wondering where the other volunteers were at. A few others wandered doing the same.
Finally I asked someone sitting out front & he pointed to what looked like a carnival, a parking lot full of people, food booths, I didn't hear a word of english. I asked someone with a clipboard where the volunteer training was & she pointed me toward the room where we gathered and had an intense training on United States Citizenship: Prescreening , Identification requirements, going over applications, photos & Quality control (attorney reviews of applications).
As soon as the training was complete they asked who only spoke english. A small handful, perhaps 5-6 of us raised our hands. Our trainer had us gather in one corner, as I was walking to that corner, another volunteer, whispered:
"Shame on you."
I thought, I can either let that go or let it bug me the entire time. I chose to let it go.
All the spanish speaking volunteers were assigned & then our trainer came back to us english only speaking volunteers. She asked who wanted to fill out applications. I immediately volunteered because I just wanted to get busy doing something. So we were taken out into the gynasium/cultural-hall full of people waiting patiently...hundreds inside. I thought, WOW. So I'm sitting there now at a long row of tables with maybe 15 volunteers per row of tables ready to fill out applications.
Our trainer asks me again: English only??
I said: Yes
She starts reading out names in order of arrival and found my first English only eager person who was so patient with me. I was startled at how wonderful this person from Guatamala was with me as I fumbled through my first N-400 Application for Naturalization. I asked for the "green card" the Id's & Social Security cards, other written prepared information when I needed them. It was actually quite a breeze, easier than what I thought it was going to be. Each applicant asked me questions & told me their concerns, their path so far through the citizenship process. Surprisingly I had a similar path with my problems with The Real ID Act of 2005, gaining membership into the Navajo Nation and obtaining my Certificate of Indian Blood. It was amazing how similar my path was to each applicant I processed, the variances, their fears, how long their process lasted, etc. I felt like I shared in their process through my own.
My own process took 22 years of research, some of the applicants had taken the same length of time. We had a great time together, each applicant as I asked them the necessary questions, recieved their paperwork, identifications etc. Again I had arrived at around 8am. When I looked at my watch it was 2pm. WOW. I saw the passion, patience, eagerness to continue the process of citizenship. EVERY applicant thanked me in their own genuine way as I sent them to the legal team to review all their documentation after the completion of application. I processed many from Mexico, several from Guatamala, Nicaragua & Peru. It was such an amazing time. I had to leave early & felt so bad. This one lady came up to me as I was leaving and pleaded with me to stay and help her. My heart sank but I had to get to the Central Library by 5pm to return a DVD. I had to leave. I apologized 3 or 4 times to her. On my way out I talked to Carmen our Human Rights Campaign volunteer coordinator & told her I had an amazing time & to contact me again to volunteer.
On my way out, several of the people I'd helped earlier stopped me to thank me again. I was awestruck & humbled. Some others who only spoke spanish reached out & shook my hand and thanked me for volunteering. I'm still touched by their patience and kindness. Some had waited since 5:30 am in the parking lot, standing in line. Today was a very hot day, at least mid-90's. There were as many people packed in the parking lot as there were in the gymnasium/cultural-hall waiting patiently in the hot sun. Wow, all these people crammed toward the entrance hoping to get in. I found out through the day while talking to each applicant they'd found out through newspapers, on television, through friends & family about the U.S. Citizenship event. Some drove as fast as they could from Riverside, Chino, Oak Hills, Orange County, everywhere in Southern California to be there. Some didn't wait to get babysitters for their kids & just brought them with, hoping they would not be a disruption. The kids were great, well behaved, understanding the importance of the moment. Stunning.
If this is the caliber of people all over our nation who want to become citizens, we are blessed in this nation to welcome them with open arms. My attitude about "mexicans" or "spanish only speaking" people has changed because of these wonderful immigrants who were so kind, patient, eager...you could see it in the waiting, wanting eyes, the crowded hall & parking lot. They are amazing people, we are blessed as a nation to welcome them. I am a better person for processing the applicants who sat across from me.
So all you WWWreaders know:
Monday April 11th was when Alisia from the Navajo Nation Vital Statistics called to verbally inform me of my membership into the Navajo Nation.
Thursday April 14, 2011 I received my Navajo Nation Affidavit of Birth and Certificate of Indian Blood.
Thursday afternoon I went immediately to the California DMV on Hope Street just east of the University of Southern Califonia south of downtown LA to get my State of California Identification. They'd never processed someone with Navajo Nation documents & had to call Sacramento for codes & the process. Paul, the DMV clerk who assisted me said: "I'm the expert now!" once he figured out the process with the help of several of his peers & supervisors. None of them had ever seen documents like mine from the Navajo Nation.
This is the reason I felt so connected to these wonderful immigrants. We had a great time, they are just amazing people...did I tell you that already?
Oh, some of the questions I had the most fun with were:
To the male applicants: "Are you Male or Female?"
To male, female, old and young: "Have you EVER been a prostitute, or prucured anyone for prostitution?"
To all applicants: "Have you EVER been married to more than one person at the same time?"
Ok so I had fun watching them try to understand the questions, their reactions, some immediate, some delayed, some very perplexed, some in horror, some who just laughed, & some who numbly answered "no"...well all answered no to the prostitution question. LOL
I had a great day in East LA. I processed applicants who were barely 18 to those who were senior citizens well beyond 65. All wonderful people, thankful & grateful for us volunteers.
Each applicant received:
Guide to US CItizenship and the Naturalization Process
DVD of The USCIS Naturalization Interview and Test
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