To the editor: Reading Gustavo Arellano’s column on living in a “Prop. 187 America” and seeing the photograph of protesters in 1994 reminded me of my life at that time.
I was teaching English as a second language at Eagle Rock High School when California voters passed the measure to deny undocumented immigrants public services. I don’t know how many “illegals” were in my class, but do know that all my students were striving to learn English and have a bright future.
When the school planned a talent show, my students participated by singing, “This Land Is Your Land.” I thought that was the perfect anthem to counteract the anti-immigrant sentiment. They did a wonderful job and were heartily cheered by the audience, faculty and staff.
I also told them of my family who came here from Lithuania, sort of illegally. Because my great-aunt had trachoma, a serious eye disease, the family could have been deported if they landed at Ellis Island in New York. So instead, my great-grandparents took a ship to Canada and crossed the border into Minnesota, where they settled in Minneapolis.
Would President-elect Donald Trump have deported them? These days, it’s possible.
Joanne Serin, Los Angeles