One of the things I do is run an ESL program with my partner here in Athens. The program is part of a larger group, the Economic Justice Coalition, and several months ago they applied for a grant to help fund the program. Tomorrow is a meeting with the granting organization, and the head of EJC told me to expect to be asked how we know we aren't teaching undocumented immigrants. The answer to give is "We don't ask to see proof of citizenship, and we are all better off if they and their families speak English." Thing is, that's just way to kind. If someone asks me such an asinine question, I want to ask how their families got here, which part of this land-we-stole-from-Native-Americans they now live on...anything to make them stop drawing some phantom line between "illegal" and "worthy." But we want their money, so I will say "We don't ask to see proof of citizenship, and we are all better off if they and their families speak English." But I will be thinking:
We don't ask for proof of citizenship for any of EJC's programs, including this one.
I've never been asked for proof of citizenship, and I'm not going to ask people for "proof" just because they speak Spanish.
We do not consider ethnicity to be an indication of illegal activity.
I'll answer your question if you please show your papers first.
I work for an organization that gets more than $1 million from public agencies, and we don't ask for proof of citizenship in any context.
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