The Discovery space shuttle created twin sonic booms felt throughout Southern California as it descended to land at Edwards Air Force Base on Sept. 11. Jose Hernandez, 47, an astronaut on the two-week Discovery mission, was not finished creating shock waves just yet.
Hernandez called for U.S. immigration reform during a telephone interview with Mexico’s Televisa network.
“The American economy needs them,” said Hernandez, who, according to the Los Angeles Times, grew up picking cucumbers, sugar beets and tomatoes in the fields of California’s San Joaquin Valley with his Mexican-born parents, who came to the United States in the 1950s. “I believe it’s only fair to find a way to legalize them and give them an opportunity to work openly so they can also retire in a traditional U.S. system.”
National Aeronautics and Space Administration officials quickly responded as NASA spokesman James Hartfield told The Associated Press that Hernandez’s views “are not representing NASA, the astronaut office or any NASA organization in his response.”
Hernandez updated his Twitter account, under the moniker “Astro_Jose,” even while he was in space where he described the work that was being done and the feelings he felt.
“It’s so amazing to realize that one navigates around the Earth in 90 minutes!” Hernandez tweeted from the Discovery on the fourth day of his voyage. “You see so much beauty in such a short time!”
My tweeting in class — a much less exotic locale than space — about Jello and sharpening pencils seems mundane by comparison.
Hernandez posts nearly all of his tweets in both English and Spanish. While in space, he showed his support of the Mexican national soccer team. Before launch, he sent a special greeting to “todos en mi Mexico (everybody in my Mexico),” and said he hoped to return soon so that he may share his experiences in person. And share he did.
“I saw the world as one,” he said in his interview with Televisa. “There were no borders. You couldn’t distinguish between the United States and Mexico.”
Hernandez continued to defend his beliefs on the subject of immigration, despite NASA separating themselves from his views. “I work for the U.S. government, but as an individual I have a right to my personal opinions. Having 12 million undocumented people here means there’s something wrong with the system and the system needs to be fixed.”
Hernandez does well to remain steadfast in his convictions. The system does need to be fixed. Congress has not shown much movement on this issue and perhaps a man like Hernandez will encourage increased movement.
Hernandez’s inspirational journey to space and strong stand on immigration reform comes at a time when the American dream for Mexicans is fading. The Associated Press reports, “Deportations of illegal immigrants are at record levels, while tightened border security and the recession have caused a historic drop in the number of migrants heading north.”
Hernandez carries himself well and is loved in both Mexican and Mexican-American communities. Mexican President Felipe Calderon calls Hernandez his paisano, or countryman. The mayor of Michoacan, Hernandez’s parents’ home state and home to one of the largest populations of migrants in the U.S., says, “Jose Hernandez sets an example for our youth.”
Maybe when Hernandez is done soaring into space as an astronaut, he can settle down on Earth as a politician.
Leo Portugal is a journalism major and a columnist for the Daily 49er.