Jenni Martinez arrived in Washington, D.C. early Tuesday afternoon expecting to attend a few workshops and learn more about how she can help further the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM).
And this was exactly what she did when she landed in the nation’s capital. But things quickly changed after the 16-year-old Redmond resident and a 13-year-old girl named Carmen Lima from California encountered House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) Wednesday morning.
A HUMANITARIAN ISSUE
The two girls and their chaperones were eating breakfast at Pete’s Diner in Washington, D.C. when a man in a red cap and windbreaker entered with a group of security guards. It was Boehner.
Martinez and Lima gave the speaker some time to order his breakfast before approaching him. They asked if he would like to join them for breakfast and when he declined, the two girls shared stories illustrating how they and their families have been affected by the country’s current immigration laws.
Martinez, a junior at Redmond High School (RHS), shared with Boehner a story about how she had to say goodbye to her father at an airport in Mexico in 2009, not knowing if she would ever see him again because he was undocumented. She told Boehner that she is one of the lucky ones as they were separated for only a few months — other families can be separated for years.
After sharing their stories, Martinez and Lima asked Boehner if they could count on his vote for immigration reform. The speaker told them he will try to find a way to move the bill forward.
Later that afternoon, Boehner told the press, “We have no intention of ever going to conference on the Senate bill,” referring to the Senate immigration proposal.
Martinez said Boehner basically lied to her and Lima and did not back up what he had previously said.
The goal of speaking with Boehner was to humanize the immigration reform issue for politicians.
Martinez, whose mother is also undocumented, said immigration reform is not a political issue. It is a humanitarian issue. It’s students trying to access education and families trying to stay together, she said.
“It’s the right thing to do,” she told the Reporter in a phone interview while still in the other Washington.
A CHANCE ENCOUNTER
Martinez volunteers with OneAmerica — a nonprofit focused on advancing the fundamental principles of democracy and justice at the local, state and national levels by building power within immigrant communities in collaboration with key allies. She and her brother Carlos were at the nation’s capital this week as part of Keeping Families Together: Youth in Action, an event organized by FIRM.
Charlie McAteer, communications director for OneAmerica, said as part of the event, Martinez and her brother were also part of a group of 150 children from all over the country who met with Civil Rights veterans who participated in the Children’s Crusade of 1963 in Birmingham, Ala.
Meeting with Boehner was not on the agenda and Martinez said that was a last-minute addition to the itinerary. She and Lima learned about it on Tuesday night after their chaperones did some research and learned that Boehner liked to eat at Pete’s Diner. There was no guarantee that the House speaker would make an appearance, so Martinez said the chaperones told them that at best, they would be able to talk to Boehner; at worst, they’d get breakfast.
A video of Martinez and Lima’s conversation with Boehner was posted online, and with that alongside the House speaker’s later comments on the Senate immigration proposal, Martinez said they began receiving interview requests from all sorts of news outlets. While on the phone with the Reporter, Martinez and Lima were making their way to MSNBC for an interview with Chris Hayes, the host of “All In.” The interview aired Wednesday night.
THE IMPORTANCE OF INVOLVEMENT
In addition to her volunteer work with OneAmerica, Martinez is part of the Latino Unidos group at RHS. She is also a member of the youth advisory board at Redmond’s Old Firehouse Teen Center (OFH).
Ken Wong, teen programs administrator for the City of Redmond, said Martinez has done many programs with OFH.
“Jenni’s maturity and awareness goes beyond her age,” Wong said. “She has demonstrated in the work that she has done at the teen center how committed she is in bringing awareness to social issues that impact teens and the global community. We have had the pleasure of watching her develop and (her encounter with Boehner in Washington, D.C.) is just one more step in the impact that she brings to our community.”
Martinez said it is important for young people to get involved in social issues because they affect everyone. Also, she said, young people are needed to help keep things moving forward.
“It really is carrying the torch of those before us,” she said. “This is the world we’re going to be living in when the older generation is gone. We’re going to be running the show…If you have that privilege (to get involved), why not use it?”
