3 min read Immigration

Poem: Stand by Your Man

Written by an ICNW member and neighbor

ICNW Storytellers

on Jun 15, 2025

Stand By Your Man

I.

Honoring your wedding vows means finding a way to shield him
with all 120 pounds of you.

Isn’t he a citizen?
as if that still mattered
when you look the part and sound like it too

I tell him to think of it like the plane:
If one of us crew initiates evacuation, the rest
follow suit. Remember the codewords.

but we both know it’s nothing
like that

A brown cop chuckles when he spots us leaving two different Jewel-Oscos
pulling away from the second with a bucket of chicken in my lap
a piece hanging out of my mouth

an hour later
the sound of sirens near the house drives him into the

storage space

where I hid from our niece a couple years ago
in a game of hide-and-seek.

II.

Giving up Spanish is going too far, he says
– I’m Mexican-American, what of it? –
Chatting with a waiter or another customer in line at Jerry’s
It’s the language he uses when he talks in his sleep

I pulled him out of the first store because there
wasn’t anyone he could speak Spanish with

And too many who Fit The Profile
of someone who might rather call to get him taken away than have to hear his
accent

III.

The rules are
He cannot go walking around the neighborhood
He cannot go to the store by himself
If he is in the car, then I am, too
He must stay in his hotel room on overnights
If he must go out alone, he must be in his uniform
He must carry his American passport
Everywhere
(but he should not hand it over)
He must carry several “Know Your Rights” cards
Plenty for him and enough to hand out
I carry them, too
If anyone knocks on the door
Hide
Check in with the Mexican consulate’s app
so if one of his two countries disowns him
the other one will step in to claim him
Check in with
Everyone
on a regular basis to make sure everyone’s still here
So everyone knows you’re still here

we don’t kid ourselves into thinking They will honor any rules

I search the People Over Papers map every morning, looking out for friends’
blocks, the offices where they work

the Latin beats radio station he listens to
on his way to play board games with
hand-painted orcs and space marines

plays a warning from Kristi Noem:

Come out,

Wherever you are

Meet the Poet: Katarina Grayson

I'm from Texas. I'm a white-passing Chicana. My husband was born in Chicago but spent most of his formative years in Mexico, moving back and forth from the U.S. several times. We are both regional flight attendants. We are both late-diagnosed autistics.

I realize that, compared to those who are not citizens, my husband is much safer because of his dual citizenship. However, I don't feel it is overreacting to assume that many in power would love to make it so that he is not welcome in this country, and I don't doubt that they would find terrible ways of making that happen. In many ways they already have.

Additionally, I have learned from living in Texas that it's not just those in power who can make everyday life difficult: Their supporters can be even more dangerous.