Why I Give my Time to American Gateways

by Ryan Sullivan, American Gateways Volunteer

I have lived in Austin for four years, and I feel at home everywhere in the city.  Austin has a culture of acceptance and awareness.  Its residents passionately promote a diverse array of social causes, but generally meet opposition with curiosity rather than anger.  My beliefs have been challenged in this city, but I always felt like I was given a fair shake.  As a result, I proudly identify as an Austinite and wish to improve my community.  I believe that this process is a rule of community-building: a feeling of acceptance, a sense of identity within a community, and finally an urge to give back.

Unfortunately, fragments of our national and local communities are invisible to much of the mainstream public.  Refugees are invisible legally—held in facilities without the right to legal representation unless they can afford an attorney, forced to fight for asylum in an unfamiliar system.  Refugees and detained immigrants are also socially invisible.  They are a marginalized group whose misfortunes do not attract the same amount of media attention or empathy as people with a stable residency status.  Immigrants from many different backgrounds live in Central Texas for various amounts of time, often permanently relocating here.  By offering legal help to these immigrants, American Gateways shares our nation’s ideal of “justice for all” with an otherwise invisible group.

I want to work with American Gateways because its goals are to help with specific cases rather than to influence a situation that is mired in partisan gridlock.  I want to help people that are trying to improve their own lives or reunite their family.  These efforts are also essential to families that have enjoyed the United States’ opportunities for many generations.  New Americans need to feel that they are treated impartially by our laws and practices in order for them to identify with their community.  The goal is not to give hand-outs or damage the American economy, but to nurture our culture of social awareness and growth.

My great-grandfather came from Ireland to Ellis Island over a hundred years ago.  He did not find an easy life, but he was given an opportunity to make an honest living.  He rapidly changed roles from foreigner to hard-working American by serving his new community with a long career as a police officer.  He retired as a Captain in the New York Police Department after thirty years of service.  My great-grandfather’s life is a legend in my family, keeping the memory alive of how we came to America.  Three generations later, his story is an anchor for my values of hard work and service.

This sort of story exists in every American family that can trace its roots back to immigration, because at one time or another, every family came to the U.S. from another country.  This sort of story has imprinted itself on our national consciousness to form our most important values.  New Americans should not be met with hostility, or be forced to search for the light of justice on their own.  In order to make our country’s future brighter, we must cultivate our national institutions of acceptance and opportunity.  I hope my work with American Gateways will help a few people feel more at home.

Opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily an official position of American Gateways.  Visit our volunteer page to learn more about becoming an American Gateways volunteer like Ryan.  Email us to submit your own story of being an immigrant or how immigrants impact your life.