I walk into a room full of people. Someone asks me where I’m from, and I respond with “Logansport.” They proceeded with telling me they felt bad for me because of all of the “illegal Haitians.” As it turns out, that man was none other than our own Lieutenant Governor, Micah Beckwith.
I asked him many questions about EL and funding for schools, and he skipped my question. I told him he was wrong about his comments on how many Haitians there were, and he ignored and came up with some excuse. I told them many weren’t illegal and have a protected status. He proceeded to tell me, “How would you feel if someone broke into your house and stayed?”
Overall, Micah Beckwith, in my opinion, is not a good person.
This weekend, I attended the Indiana Youth and Government. As I was doing my work at the statehouse, protesters were taking action about immigration and how we need it. I decided to join the protest and speak to the members. As an immigrant myself, I believe their concerns were validated. I spoke to many protesters, and they had much to say.
“They are claiming they own the land, but have no right to it,” A protester who preferred to stay anonymous said. “No one has a right to stolen land!”
Another delegate began speaking at the protest before I decided to speak.
“Brave men don’t deport little children, good people don’t separate families.” A protester in front of the statehouse, Tommy Sandefer, said.
After hearing many concerns, I believe they need to be addressed. Micah Beckwith needs to be invited to Logansport. Not a Lincoln Day Dinner, an event with the ability to make change. While I was at the statehouse, I met with many representatives, Democrat and Republican, and they also shared concern.
I recently wrote a letter to Micah Beckwith inviting him to our Multicultural Festival. I believe that change cannot come if we stay polarized. Logansport is a town built by immigrants, it’s a town populated by immigrants. It’s time people see that.
I believe any person can change, and change is what we need now. Instead of closing our town off, we need to show him the truth. If he refuses to come, that’s on him, but if we don’t try, then we can never accomplish any change.
