With President Trump’s recent pledge to be harsher on illegal immigration, coupled with the rise in arrests and deportations made, my nightmare of finding my parents in detention and awaiting deportation is solidifying. For these last couple of months, while the house sleeps, I imagine different scenarios. Assuming I was still a minor, my younger brother and I would be sent with my parents. Dreams of attending a top-rate American university would be muted. What would happen if they were deported once I was eighteen? Assuming I was already in college, I would keep my brother and myself in America, taking legal guardianship of him. If that happened, I would have to transfer from my university to one closer to home and start working to maintain …show more content…
The point, however, is that with such an impervious action not only would the life of my parents forever change, but also those of my brother and me. It’s not realistic to imagine that individuals can be plucked from their homes, their neighborhoods, their cities without some ripple effect. Now, I acknowledge both sides of the illegal immigration issue. I realize that Americans stigmatize the general immigrant population as competition for jobs and benefits. In addition, the public misconceives that illegal immigrants are criminals (when in fact the crime rate among immigrants is lower than the native population). I also realize that immigrants are an economic boon. Finally, regardless of how they became “illegal”, I realize that these immigrants have families (like mine), have lives (like mine), and have opportunities (like mine). With such a personal connection to this issue, I find myself defending these immigrants to a broad audience. A couple weeks ago, I attended my school’s Model UN meeting concerning illegal immigration. While feeling grateful to find peers with similar opinions, I was still shocked to hear those who would, without hesitation, deport immigrants like my parents. Perhaps their point of view lacked a real-world context, so I decided to give them the benefit of doubt. At the time, however, I resisted from sharing my
In the Ted Talk “Actions Are Illegal, Never People” by Jose Antonio Vargas he talks about his personal experience as an immigrant. Much of what he said resonated with me and was not new. I come from a family of mostly immigrants, I know their history, their hardships and I have felt them too. Something Vargas said that did change my view was when he said “Actions Are Illegal, Never People” (Vargas) I have never thought of my family as criminals or bad people.
Immigration is the bedrock on which the United States was founded, yet in most political conversations today it is regarded as a negative topic and for that reason discussing this topic is important. In the US the struggle to be an immigrant is harder than ever. Immigrants are expected to work hard for jobs that they are over qualified for because of a stereotype cast on the
The harms caused by this narrative rift aren’t just anecdotal. For DACA students, this implicit condemnation of their friends and families has tangible
Immigration has been a burning issue lately, particularly after Donald Trump’s immigration ban in the United States of America. It has been a topic that families discuss every morning with breakfast. Despite many concerns related to immigration, it has several positive benefits that mostly outweighs the negativity. People bizarrely argue when it comes to immigration, but these arguments are primarily based on facts and ideas that are outdated or inconsistent and blindfold the positive aspect related to immigration. Many immigrants in the United States are good workers who don't depend upon any public welfare and mostly help in the overall development of the economy. As a country made by immigrants, we must not forget the fact that immigrants have helped to build cities and create a path of development form Google to iPhones (Gray & Furman, 2012). These facts are secluded, and some related arguments with different content have been repeated for years and continue. Immigrants have a lot to give the United States rather than to take, especially when it comes to economic terms.
There are many hotly debated and contentious issues today. Issues that people often find themselves arguing about with their friends, or something that people have a very strong presupposed belief of. But none more hotly debated or more querulous perhaps, than our immigration system. Very few issues have the magnitude and aptitude to tear an entire nation apart, and this is one of them. As with every struggle, there are two point of views. There are those that welcome the cultural differences and the economical possibilities that immigrants bring with them, along with their traditions and their work ethic. On the opposite side, there are those that view them as a potential threat to our barely recovering economy and to their American way of
With arguably the most controversial presidential election at bay, one of the most analyzed topics is immigration, specifically in regard to the 11 million people that are illegally living in the United States. In the discussion on immigration I reside on the right side of the continuum but I am more in the middle of the right side. My initial position regarding immigration involved me agreeing that we should deport the illegal immigrants unless they had been here for a long period of time; such as 10 years or more. I feel that for an illegal immigrant to have lived here for that long then they would not have done anything significantly wrong because if they would have done so then they would have been caught and deported. I also feel that illegal in any context is wrong, therefore the individuals who have committed these crimes should be dealt with accordingly. At the same time, I also feel that disrupting a family’s life is also out of line even if they went about the whole process illegally. This debate is difficult to pick apart and I personally struggled finding out what I truly supported or didn’t, I continuously contradicted myself. My initial position stands for the deportation of illegal immigrants but by taking a humanitarian perspective about it.
Undocumented Americans are like any other Americans, but with limited freedoms and opportunities as their other American peers. In the United States, undocumented Americans number about 2.1 million, and almost half of them are now adults (Friedman, November 10th, 2016). Many of these undocumented Americans were born in Mexico, moved to the United States and began their lives as American since they were young. This particular group of immigrant youths face uncertain futures clouded by fear and frustration due to the lack of rights, opportunities, and supports from both the general publics and the government. Many undocumented Americans do not fully realize the constraints of their status until they become young adults. Undocumented Americans’
Immigration is broadly considered a matter of national interest. During the early years of the United States of America, immigrants were embraced and provided them with a pathway to citizenship as they came in search of personal advancement (Martin, n.d.). Today, the US is home to over 40 million immigrants who represents one-fifth of the US population. As the US develops, immigration reform restricts immigrants resulting in an influx of unauthorized immigrants. According to Bailik & Lopez (2017), 11million or 3.4% of the immigrant population is unauthorized. Subsequently, there have been numerous debates highlighting economic, security and humanitarian concerns as these unauthorized immigrants, including children, continues to
As the issue of undocumented immigrants once again dominates the news headlines, our politicians are faced with the difficult task of enforcing the laws of our land, yet humanely and ethically tending to those who illegally reside within America 's borders. As the political parties face off with differing ideologies, the undocumented, who are seen as victims from one side and criminals from the other, are caught in this citizenship purgatory until a political compromise can be achieved. Until such a compromise occurs, the nation is left dealing with the fallout of this population’s existence. Not belonging, they are left to fend for themselves while living in the shadows. Surviving through government assistance or using a stolen identity as a means to gain employment, the undocumented struggle to survive in a nation that is aware of their existence yet chooses to do nothing about it. To address the illegal immigration epidemic in the United States, its leaders must hold all lawbreakers accountable while compassionately and ethically addressing the issue through a balanced approach of amnesty and deportation.
“My parents have been keeping a secret from me” my best friend Katia told me one day during our Algebra II class. I looked at her in confusion I didn’t understand why she was so upset, or any idea what her parents would be hiding from her. Looking at her, her face ever so frustrated, she told me “I don’t have a social security, I wasn’t born here, I’m an illegal immigrant”. This was very heavy news, considering the fact that we were only sophomores in high school. I couldn’t imagine the devastation she had to face when she was told by her parents that she couldn’t do or participate in certain things because of her immigration status, that discovery of course, she told me, was very hard for her. Anxiety over deportation should not have been a constant fear for her or anyone’s high school agenda, failing a course, now this, should have been the only scary thing about being in high school. Being the child of two illegal immigrants,who had just received their United States residency, myself, I saw how much my parents struggled. Both of my parents come from underprivileged families who immigrated to the United States came from Mexico to achieve a better life as teenagers. They later met here, got married, and had me here in San Jose, where I became a first generation United States citizen. I saw the amount of time and especially money invested in obtaining their residency, something, by what I understand, a high schooler has a very limited supply of. Time
As human beings, we are entitled to three natural rights; life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Strict laws against immigration, making some legal and others not, is prohibiting individuals from fulfilling their natural rights; rights that every human being is granted to have under law, no matter your race, gender, or age. Before 1924, there was no illegal immigration and people from around the world were allowed to come and go as they please. Then in 1924, congress passed a law saying that all immigration was basically illegal. During this time crime did not go down, the drug exports did not go away, and this law did nothing but bring down the economy. Then in 1965 politicians were starting to take notice that the law did nothing but hurt the United States. So instead of revoking the law completely, they decided to make changes to it to make some immigration legal, and some immigration illegal. Looser immigration laws should be supported because every individual is entitled to natural rights, immigration helps our country (legal or not), and most illegal immigrants are law
The Article Immigration Policy: Should the U.S. government take stricter measures to limit illegal immigration (February 9, 2017), focuses on whether the U.S. should adopt stricter measures for illegal immigration. Supporters believe that illegal immigrants pose a threat to national security. Undocumented immigrants are not in the system, so their criminal records are inaccessible. Additionally, supporters believe that immigrants take the jobs of Americans. Companies tend to give immigrants jobs because they will work for cheap wages. However, the opponents of the law believe stricter measures for illegal immigrants shouldn’t be done because most of the country's technological breakthroughs are due to immigrants. Opponents believe that immigrants help the economy because they take the jobs that not many workers take, such as farming or physical work. Immigration policy argument will continue until there is common ground established between everyone whether to there should be stricter measures or another way for them to become documented.
agriculture. Natives have a mindset that they are too good to be working at such lowly
According to UNHCR a refugee agency, 65.3 million people are living in war zones. Another 5.5 billion people of all faiths face some form of religion persecution, including physical violence. People are unsafe in their own countries and homes, so they escape to other countries in search of a better chance at life. However, some of them break the rules to gain access to other countries. This results in illegal immigration. Illegal immigration is a major issue for countries around the world. According to Pew Resource, 11 million unauthorized immigrants are living in the United States. An illegal immigrant can be defined as a person who crosses the border by avoiding inspection or without a visa. This phenomenon is making countries blame
My parents had one dream: two full-time jobs, one home, and one child. This assured them a comfortable lifestyle. However, life wanted to have a little fun and tweaked the plan a bit. Speechless, my parents learned that they would be expecting triplets. In their older age, working full time jobs, our relatives pleaded with them to have their children raised by extended family in the Philippines. My father refused, “Children should always stay with their parents! How will you watch them grow?” Their selfless attitudes were willing, but not ready, to resign from their jobs to raise three children on their own. My father was working countless overtime while usually earning minimum wage. Mom was on her feet twelve hours a day. Luckily, their goal, their “American Dream”, was saved. My aunt traveled six months at a time between the Philippines and America under a traveling visa. When finally pushed upon question, my aunt replied “I’m taking care of my nieces and nephew.” She made the ultimate sacrifice, packed her things, and made a permanent residency in the U.S. illegally for the next 12 years. Her life used to be centered around caring for our bed ridden grandmother in my parents’ hometown, but our grandmother shook her head, “Your sister needs you more.”