That is the buzz in the media as power players contemplate the fate of twelve million plus immigrants - undocumented and documented. Yes, there is a war and it is not being fought only on foreign soil. There is a war in our own backyard against our communities of color, the poor and the immigrant. Here, on the iron, twisted streets of NY, our families who have taken sanctuary have a rather somber view of things: the supposed immigration reform (a compromise of a compromise) does not solve their plight. The presidential proposal does not provide any legal relief in their deportation proceedings nor does it take into consideration the consequences and impact on their children’s psyches. In fact, the great majority who live in the shadows will, once again, be plunged deeper and deeper underground.

Certainly, one reality is clear: the evident disconnect of the politicians from those whose welfare and voice they represent. The bill, which is portrayed as granting amnesty, is riddled with fundamental views and assumptions. For decades the rights of workers, whether legal or undocumented, have been eroding. There is considerable historical documentation that the guest worker programs enacted and supported by the government are in gross violation of the labor laws. At the end, the compromise serves only the corporations that will benefit from the cheap labor and the void of human rights created by the "amnesty."

Thus we stand, in the words of a poet, Daniel Berrigan…

Some stood and stood and stood.
They were taken for dummies
they were taken for fools
they were taken for being taken in.

Some walked and walked and walked.
They walked the earth
they walked the waters
they walked the air.

Why do you stand?
they were asked, and
why do you walk?

Because of the children, they said, and
because of the heart,
and because of the bread

Because
the cause
is the heart’s beat
and the children born
and the risen bread.