Last week, the Supreme Court of the United States was unable to come to a decision in regard to the executive orders brought about by President Obama. This was a harsh blow for the immigrant community across the country who had their hopes invested in these executive orders. These executive orders would have provided millions of immigrants the ability to not only work legally in the United States, but would have allowed them the tranquility that they would no longer have to hide their immigration status. More than anything, the failure of the Supreme Court to decide on this issue, demonstrates to the immigrant community that their struggles and pains are not important enough to help them.

For a country that was built on the labor of the oppressed, it sure has a twisted way of showing its appreciation for those who make the country what it is today. These executive orders were the opportunity for the Supreme Court to show immigrants that they do matter and that all they do for this country is valued. For many people, this may not seem like a huge deal, but it is. Can you imagine being an immigrant parent of children born in the United States and not know what your children would do if you were deported? I don’t know about you, but I can’t begin to imagine the desperation and anguish that those parents feel about the uncertainty of their future and of their children. Furthermore, I can’t imagine what goes through the minds of those innocent children knowing that their parents could be deported and that they would have to move to a country that they were not born or raised in.

The issue with the way that the Supreme Court and politicians are handling the executive orders is that they have failed to acknowledge that millions of lives are at stake. They have all focused on the technicality of the executive orders and have forgotten the fact that all of this involves the lives of millions of people who simply want a better life. The deadlock of the Supreme Court means that the decision will ultimately come down to the presidential candidate and the judge they appoint.

While the immigrant community has been devastated, our hope and faith in these executive orders are still alive and will stay alive until a new supreme court judge is appointed. Our hope will never die and our faith in the country that has given millions of immigrants a better life has not been shaken.

To all of my immigrant brothers and sisters, stay strong and don’t let your hope and faith be torn apart. We are all together in this, and together we will make change happen.