“Even Though We Don’t Know English … I Know We Will Understand Each Other”
Among the migrants who’ve entered the U.S. through a program allowing everyday Americans to financially sponsor refugees from around the world are Johanna and Luz, a couple that was forced to flee Venezuela due to political oppression and violence.
“This journey is not easy, and we don’t do it because we simply feel like it,” Luz said in a video shared by Welcome.US, a national initiative empowering Americans to become sponsors for migrants seeking new lives in the U.S. “We do it because we really have the need, and we want to search for a better quality of life.”
Johanna and Luz have now been in the U.S since last fall thanks to the private sponsorship of Denise and Laura, another couple based in Nevada. And while there are language differences that can at times make communicating tricky — Denise says they often laugh about the results of their translator app — they have already created a bond. Johanna and Luz say they appreciated how Denise and Laura made the effort to make them feel more welcome.
“Even though we don’t know English, we don’t communicate in the same language, I know we will understand each other, and that is what a home is based on — communication, understanding, and comprehension,” Luz said. “And be united,” Johana added.
Laura said that while she knew that she wanted to help migrants seeking new lives here, she never realized that she would gain something important from this experience too. “People are people, and they’re hardworking, loving, and funny people,” she said. “And it’s just been so much fun.”
The video said that Denise and Laura have helped the couple further stabilize their new lives in the U.S., including finding jobs, enrolling in English classes, and finding new friendships within the area’s LGBTQ community. With LGBTQ immigrants in the U.S. often encountering “unique obstacles to securing protection and safety,” this sponsorship program will hopefully mean that the new road ahead will not be as difficult for Johanna and Luz.
This is just one example of how communities all across the U.S. believe that we should be a welcoming nation. “For instance, more than 250,000 people in the United States have joined the national effort to sponsor refugee newcomers through Operation Allies Welcome, Uniting for Ukraine, the parole process for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, and the Welcome Corps,” we recently noted.
More than 1.5 million Americans have also applied to sponsor migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela under a Biden administration policy announced last year. Americans want to help, but only 30,000 migrants can be accepted per month under the policy — and Republicans led by corrupt Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are seeking to use the courts to block this program.
Paxton doesn’t get American principles, but Denise does. “I think really back to the core values, and that is we’re a country of immigrants,” she said. “We are many religions, we are many peoples. We are a very, very diverse country. And we work together to help others.” Click here to learn more about Welcome.US.
