This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The political atmosphere this year seems somber if not hopeless as the hopes and dreams of Latinos for humane immigration reform slip further away.
First, there was Arizona and all the copycats that have since taken pursuit; then there was the infamous "list," the failed passage of the Dream Act, and threats to the 14th Amendment.
In the aftermath of last week's election, it's clear that Latinos in this country are facing even tougher times.
So with all the dismal news, it's ironic, if not insulting, that none of the major media outlets covered or reported on the ray of sunshine that illuminated the dark skies over Utah last weekend.
Dr. Francisco Jimenez brought that sunshine when he visited Utah for the Intermountain Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages Conference at Weber State University.
He came, he spoke, he inspired ... and very few people heard him.
A renowned linguistics professor and winner of the 2002 U.S. Professor of the Year award from the Carnegie Foundation, Jimenez, is among the "best and brightest" of immigrants in America.
Of course, to read George Chapman's op-ed ("The best and brightest immigrants in America," Opinion, Oct. 24), one would think that the economic success and greatness of this nation depend solely on the intellectual and well-educated immigrants.
Chapman makes an impassioned argument for relaxing visa limits to allow more engineers and scientists to immigrate so they would help our economy. But the Dr. Jimenezes of this country are the real heroes, having arrived here dirt poor and with little or no education.
Not only was Jimenez a poor son of Mexican migrant farm workers, he was an undocumented immigrant (to start with).
After being deported, the family was lucky enough to secure a sponsor to help them return to California, where Jimenez, despite the instability of his transient childhood, struggled to get an education.
In fact, he said that learning and knowledge were sources of stability for him, because they were the only things he could take with him. During his conference address, he said that his mother once told him, "If you lose hope and faith, what do you have left — a TV?"
Even when Jimenez felt discouraged and considered dropping out of school to help his family, they encouraged him to continue studying.
We do not need more foreign-born engineers and scientists, as Chapman seems to be arguing; what we need, especially in the Latino community, is educational opportunities to help highly motivated people lift themselves out of poverty.
The failure to pass the Dream Act is discouraging, but a highly motivated young boy named Francisco Jimenez became a successful and highly productive citizen of this country without political advantages.
Utah's own economic bright spot is, in fact, found in the working-class Latino community, with dozens of new taqerias, mercados, etc., owned by ordinary people.
The political demagogues who had been discouraging Latinos from voting are the very people who voted against the Latino community, electing those with harsh anti-immigrant agendas.
Now who will inspire the Latino community to continue fighting and not lose hope?
In his closing comments, Jimenez voiced support for the Dream Act as well as immigration reform.
More important, he left us with his own legacy in his novels, The Circuit (Cajas de Carton) and Breaking Through (Senderos Fronterizos). He even read excerpts from the third installment in this autobiographical series, but again, very few people were there to hear it.
All Americans, especially Latinos, should read these books, acknowledging that all immigrants have something valuable to contribute to this country's greatness.
Teresa A. Swenson of Taylorsville is an adjunct professor of English as a second language at Salt Lake Community College and a member of Intermountain Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages.