body language | part I

I was fortunate to work in Chicago Public Schools while wear|haus was getting started. I say fortunate because the experiences I had, while trying at times, taught me more about the world today than any job I’ve ever had. Chicago is a sanctuary city, which means that the city will not ask about your immigration status, disclose this information to authorities and most importantly, won’t deny you City services based on status. It means our city provides a safe environment for the undocumented community through noncooperation and non-enforcement of federal anti-immigration policies. This includes schools, like the one I worked at which welcomed over 1,000 students seeking asylum last school year.

I remember growing close with a number of these students that year- and it was surprising as I didn’t speak Spanish and many had not yet learned English. One day in particular I was asked to read the students a book in Spanish and the kids laughed while I struggled to get through it – the book was about making tortillas and we eventually put the book down and spoke about our favorite kind of tacos while using google translate. It struck me that while we were able to use technology to understand each other, what made us close was our proximity. We sat close, I offered an un-ending amount of hugs, the kids passed books and drawings to each other. It was our body language and acceptance of one another in a new environment that created the bond.

I shared this experience with haustler Wendy. Wendy herself immigrated to the US with her family back in 1998. She was just about to start first grade and had moved from a small city in northeast China (six million people or so) to Auburn, Alabama.

Jess: You were very young when you moved, but do you remember your experience at school?

Wendy: I remember parts of school, I remember having to go to ESL which was difficult for me because the teacher only assisted the Spanish speaking students with Spanish to English translation. My first language was Mandarin so I couldn’t understand most of the spoken language.

Jess: So how did you learn English?

Wendy: I think what helped me the most during my time learning English was actually my first-grade teacher, Mrs. Freeman, who was also my second-grade teacher. She was incredibly patient and kind. She made a big effort to use body language to help me understand what she was saying.
For example, we had story time in class, and I didn’t know what was being said, but I would watch the other kids. When they laughed, I would laugh too—just to fit in and feel part of the group. It was more about assimilating to the culture than fully grasping the language at first.

At home, my parents continued speaking Chinese to me, which kept me connected to my heritage. At the same time, they trusted the school environment and my peers to teach me English naturally. That balance made a big difference in helping me adapt.

 Jess: I love that she used body language as a tool to help you learn. As a dance teacher I constantly witness people respond to movement on a deep level. It opens up another form of communication and in a lot of ways, like with you as a kid and the students I worked with, it creates closeness.

Jess: Many of us (myself included) don’t know what the process of becoming a US citizen entails. Can you tell us what was required in the immigration process?

Wendy: In the U.S. at the time, the immigration process required that you live in the country for five years before you could officially apply for permanent residency, which is essentially a green card. A green card allows you to stay in the U.S. without needing to continuously apply for or maintain a visa.

During those five years, you had to collect and provide a lot of materials to prove your residency and demonstrate that you intended to stay long-term. This included showing documentation of where you worked, where you lived, and even bills you paid on time—essentially anything that confirmed your stability and commitment to remaining in the country.

For my parents, I think the process was somewhat easier because the U.S. was actively seeking outside talent, especially individuals with advanced degrees. If you had a master’s degree or higher, it was easier to prove that you were bringing valuable expertise into the country rather than taking jobs away from average citizens. Both of my parents had master’s degrees in material science engineering, which helped their case significantly.

During this time, we also met with lawyers to ensure we had all the proper documents and that we were following every requirement. A lot of what we knew about the process came from mutual friends and connections who had gone through it before, which was incredibly helpful. We were very fortunate to have that network of support guiding us through what can be a really complicated process.

Jess: And you’ve shared that your family’s experience was impacted by 9/11?

Wendy: The process for us to get permanent residency took much longer than usual. Even though the application itself was supposed to move forward after five years, it ended up taking eight years after we moved to the U.S. We were eligible to apply in 2003, but 9/11 happened in 2001, and that changed everything. The additional layers of security that were introduced slowed everything down significantly. There was a lot more scrutiny to ensure that people applying for residency were properly vetted.

I think we were fortunate in some ways because we weren’t part of the racial or ethnic group that Americans associated with terrorism at the time. For others who faced racial profiling due to their background, the process became even more difficult and drawn out. For us, the delays were more procedural—just the sheer increase in security measures added even more complications to an already convoluted system.

Jess: And after all this time one of the final steps was a citizenship test, correct? When it came to the test you had to take, how did you and your family study?

Wendy: My dad studied for his citizenship test during my senior year of high school, which, coincidentally, was the same year I was taking an AP Government class. It was funny how much overlap there was between what he was studying and what I was learning in class. The question bank he was working from had about a hundred questions, and a lot of them were the same topics we were covering in school.

I remember helping him prepare by coaching him on questions like, 'Who was our third president?' or 'What’s in the Constitution?' We even went over things like the Fourth and Sixth Amendments. These were all things he needed to know to pass his test, and I was learning them at the same time in school. It was a unique experience to be able to help him study and see that connection between what he was doing to become a citizen and what I was learning about the foundations of the country.

Jess: It’s incredible to hear this experience and think of how I took all of this for granted. To hear the ways in which you felt fortunate throughout a very lengthy and stressful process is humbling. And once again, the theme of community being a guide and source of comfort shows the power in what we can build when we invest in ourselves and our neighbors.

Coming up: body language Part II ...

"What I wish more people understood is that we’re living in an ever-changing society that is progressing and adapting faster than at any other point in human history. A lot of people who oppose immigration don’t realize how much of our societal advancements have been driven by cross-cultural and cross-country collaboration...The frustrating part is that there seems to be a lack of education around this. Many people don’t recognize that the conveniences and progress they enjoy now are the result of global collaboration and the blending of cultures and ideas. To assume that 'all immigration is bad immigration' ignores this reality."