Last week I had the opportunity to spend two days in Washington DC to watch the passage of the Senate's Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill...in the actual Senate Chamber!
Thanks to the non-profit, immigrant-led organization United We Dream we were able to travel to Washington overnight to watch the vote the following morning. It was my first time seeing the U.S Capitol and it is such an imposing structure, a testament of power and architectural beauty in one building.
After about four checkpoints, including leaving all our electronic devices behind, we were finally in the Senate Chamber and it happened that, Sen. Reid, the majority leader, had started the "morning business"of the day. After three hours of statements by senators from both parties. The senators proceeded to vote to motion to vote for the bill at 4pm that afternoon (I know, it may be confusing, Robert's Rules for you). We left the chamber and on to the restaurant to eat, we were so hungry after waking up so early. We knew the CIR bill was going to pass already, however, the afternoon vote was going to be a symbolic/traditional one, you know, where each senator is present in the room and they vote their nays and yays.
Right after we ate, everyone prepared to go back to the chamber, except me, brother and a friend. We detoured towards the Capitol tours offered to tourists so we could get to know the capitol better. Also, taking advantage of my history/politics geek brother was a once-in-a-lifetime chance I had to enjoy.
I highly recommend visiting the U.S Capitol if you are ever in Washington DC for a few hours. The evocative and illustrative frescos of Constantino Brumidi on the Capitol's Rotunda, the Cript, the Statuary Hall.
The Apotheosis of Washington by Constantino Brumini
The most memorable art piece for me was "The Frieze of American History" by Brumini and Filippo Costaggini depicting some important historical moments in American history. Bear in mind that I am admiring these pieces of Art not by their historical context (that I may agree or disagree) but by the evocative feelings it gives the audience.
Paintings such as the Baptism of Pocahontas or the Discovery of the Mississippi adorned the walls of the Rotunda giving it a dramatic and very classical feel to the atmosphere.
Between these paintings there were also statues of different American iconic figures representing different states in the union. I remember two of them were Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, Andrew Jackson and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and I told my brother how ironic it was that they were all together in one room as statues because had they been alive it wouldn't had happened otherwise. And this is why I decided to name my post E pluribus Unum, "Out of Many, One." Different points of view conveying to show us that they can co-exist together in one place; I hope the House of Representatives keeps that in mind as they prepare to discuss their own Immigration bill now.
After our tour we ran back to the Senate Chamber, an hour away from the symbolic vote, we almost didn't make it because of the long line of people waiting to enter the Chamber to watch the vote, many in the line included staff from the hill. We finally made it inside 20 minutes to 4p (it was just three of us anyway, come on!)We had the best seats on the house (or Senate??), front row, and with perfect view of the President's section. All of a sudden, a five-second inattention, showed me VP Biden was In Da Room getting ready to record the votes. I got so hyped when I saw him, the same way Leslie Knope acted when she met him. I just kept wishing he would colgate-smile and thought of his malarkey moments last year.
Well, the moment was historic, unforgettable, unusual, uplifting, and so special mainly because my brother and I were in the same room witnessing such an important event in our lives ;)
Throughout the course of the day I got to watch the senators do their business, and me being the observant Anthropologist couldn't help but notice, sometimes confirm, some senatorial personalities: Sen. Rubio is very much attention-hungry, constantly fixing himself every time he was in the room. Sen. Mccain has a kind aura around him, a genuine smile and a confident walk. Sen. Schumer is too political for me to like, kept going in/out of the room. Sen. Mcconell lies in your face, blah. Sen. Reid and Sen. Rockefeller remind me of two cute grandpas. Sen. Warren commands herself around the room. Sen. Landrieu reminded me of a bulldog that day, so serious she almost looked angry and constantly walking around the room touching her suit.
YES WE CAN was shouted right after the decision was announced even though any kind of celebration is prohibited inside the chamber. One dreamer was arrested but they let her go after a while. Afterwards, Sen. Durbin invited us to his office, on the way we met Sen. Leahy from the senate Judiciary Committee, who told us to thank Senator. Durbin instead of him for the efforts, he's a very tall man. In Sen. Durbin's office we shared a special moment with him, he told us how personal this issue was for him because his mother, born in Lithuania, had also been an immigrant when she arrived to Baltimore for the first time. He showed us her framed naturalization certificate and how special this had been for her. He also showed us a beautiful poster size-picture of the first place her mother saw when she arrived to the U.S., similar to the pictures one sees of Ellis Island's Immigration headquarters. And he showed us another poster of Pres. Obama autographed by him for the senator. He was just so happy himself he kept showing us stuff around the room, while his staff worried about him catching his flight on time. The one #firstworldproblems moment did happen when the senator said "I have to catch my flight, did you guys fly? at what time is your flight?" I said nobody flew here Senator, we came by bus!
It was a Long Day! I was exhausted by the time we left his office, we all headed to a chinese restaurant nearby, said our goodbyes to some groups and later joined a "Post-senate decision party" being held to celebrate CIR with Congress Staff, DC Activists and Lobbyists and, of course, Dreamers.
