Immigration : The Land Of Dreams

The reality that immigration policies and registration requirements create for undocumented students is a grim one; despite their scholarly capability, thousands upon thousands of undocumented students who have completed high school do not continue on with their education because of the lack of legal paperwork (DREAM Act). This has been the story line for countless undocumented valedictorians, like Grecia Cantu, who’s dream of going to Baylor University to become a teacher was plucked by a simple mandate of Congress (Smith). Despite having a presidential scholarship to Baylor University, Grecia’s future is hampered by her illegal status in the country and the inactivity of the DREAM Act in congress, which is due largely to its brisk opponents. Critics of the legislation falsely advocate that it grants preferential treatment to undocumented students (Malkin 1). In reality, the DREAM Act only grants qualifying individuals with a temporary residency, a driver’s license, and a work permit (Giving the Fact). This allows the students who meet the criteria the same tuition rates as natural-born citizens and a legal way to work and drive in the country. Another resounding critic among the opponents of the bill includes the common misconception that the DREAM Act will provide amnesty and forgive the federal offense immigrants committed when they entered the country illegally (Smith). In truth, only immigrants who entered the country during their youth, before age 16, are eligible for the benefits of the legislation. Once they apply, they will have to fulfill the requirements of completing a 2-year college or serve a 2-year term in the armed forces to finally receive resident status, not citizenship, after 6 years of proved residency (Creating Opportunities). If Congress allowed this legislation to

Immigration has changed a lot throughout the years in American history, not only in laws about immigration, but about places where immigrants came from, and the different races that immigrated. These factors have changed throughout history by shaping the social and economic aspects of the United States. Immigration has changed for the better and for the worse. It has gone to as far as making camps for Japanese Americans and deporting them and taking their belongings, to as low as giving immigrants papers and letting them stay.

Undocumented immigrants are foreign nationals who entered the United States without authorization or entered legally but remained in the United States without authorization. However, undocumented youth and students usually have no role in the decision to come to this country. They are usually brought to this country by their parents or relatives, generally due to economic hardship and they have spent more years in the United States than in their country of birth. (Baum, Flores, 2011) Over the years, undocumented immigration has grown tremendously in the United States. “Among the nearly 12 million undocumented immigrants, a

While reading The Immigration Kaleidoscope: Knowing the Immigrant Family Next Door I could not help but think back to when I was working in the restaurant industry. A lot of the kitchen workers had immigrated to America from various countries but mostly Mexico. One of my favorite coworkers Anna, who moved to America from Mexico to send money back to her family, forcing her to leave her young daughter behind.

The American Dream is that dream of a nation in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with options for each according to capacity or accomplishments. It is a dream of social stability in which each man and each woman shall be able to achieve to the fullest distinction of which they are essentially competent, and be distinguished by others for what they are, despite of the incidental conditions of birth or stance. People consider America the land of opportunities, a new beginning to a new life in which they can strive and succeed. America is known as the land of the free where if you have the perseverance you can achieve what you want from life. However does the American Dream apply to even those of color equally?

Immigration remains the foreground of the United States; this happens to be one of the reasons it is known as the land of opportunity. Since the beginning, immigration has been a key concept in America, immigrants could settle down without fear of persecution. However, modern laws have seized this foundation and twisted it in such a way that it is a crime to migrate to the United States, under certain circumstances. Now, there only exists few options for immigrants to be naturalized and made permanent residents or citizens, which has left several with no other option except to break the law. This has caused an abundant number of undocumented immigrants to settle down in places, near the borders of the United States, such as Florida and Texas. The border states are closer to many of these immigrants’ home countries so they do not have to pay as much to get to a state such as California, which is another reason for the abundant number of immigrants in these states. Illegal immigrants should be allowed to reside in border states as they boost the economy, they offer inexpensive labor, and they make these states more culturally diverse.

The book “Undocumented: How Immigration Became Illegal” by Aviva Chomsky describes what the process of immigration is actually like and how complicated and rough it truly is for an immigrant. Especially those who have crossed the border illegally and/or those who possess illegal documents. However this book questions what does it really mean to be illegal. As well as throughout the book it illustrates that immigrants are being treated rather closely to how slaves were treated. The work they do connects these ideas as well as other facts such as families being disconnected, immigrants being trapped in a certain part of the world, unable to travel far, and the tiny amount of rights they have compared to an average white american citizen.

The “Undocumented Students” are youth who arrived to the United States as young children. These are young adults fighting hard to achieve their piece of the American Dream. Their experiences are emblematic of the struggles of millions of undocumented children and youth in America who deal daily with isolation from peers, the struggle to pursue an education, fears of detention and deportation and the trauma of separation from family and loved ones. Today there are one million children under 18 and 4.4 million under 30 undocumented young adults living in America and 11 Undocumented immigrants (American Psychological). Being undocumented negatively

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’

There are many phrases that dehumanize an individual. One of these phrases is illegal immigrant. The phrase has been used by media outlets, politicians, and the public for years in the United States. It diminishes the idea that diversity is substantially vast in our country (Chomsky, 2014). “Immigrants exhibit a large proportion of ingenious and valuable workmen,” said Founding Father, Thomas Jefferson. In 2013, more than 41.3 million of the United States population were immigrants. This made up 13 percent of the U.S. population at the time and the percentage has only increased since then (Zong and Batalova). On November 20th of 2014, President Barack Obama addressed the nation regarding his plans on immigration. The President said, “My fellow Americans, we are and always will be a nation of immigrants. We were strangers once, too” (The White House). An illegal immigrant is defined as a foreign-born, undocumented individual who migrates across the national borders in a way that infringes the immigration regulations and laws of the country (United States Department of Homeland Security). There are many reasons as to how and why this phrase receives adverse responses. Illegal immigrant is a phrase that labels and misrepresents the undocumented individuals of the United States who are an influential and dynamic part of the society.

An immigrant is a person from a foreign country to live in the country they migrated in, usually permanently. Some Hispanics (other ethnicities/ races migrate as well) in places like Mexico or Cuba migrate to America to seek a better life. Not every reason for them coming to the U.S is to pursue the so-called "American Dream". Many are trying to escape poverty, political instability, and to find better jobs. Many people come by rafts from Cuba, or cross the border from Mexico. Being an undocumented immigrant in the United States can be very hard. It is hard to find jobs that pay enough to live off of. Families seeking to leave poverty end up in almost the same situation. Armando Ibanez crossed the border from Mexico about 16 years ago with his Mother and two siblings. Everyday he saw his mother struggle to provide food for them to eat each day. Immigrants live in fear every day of their life. Living in fear that they will be caught and forced to leave, living in fear that when they come home from school their family will not be there waiting for them. Another example of this type of hell is actually the process of crossing the border. Antonio Alarcon crossed the border with his parents at the age of 11, leaving his small brother and grandparents behind. They were each given a water bottle and small amounts of canned food. Crossing the border takes several days, which meant they ran out of their supplies quickly. Due to family deaths his parents returned to Mexico, leaving him behind to complete his

“Immigration make us stronger. It keeps us vibrant. It keeps us hungry. It keeps us prosperous. It is part of what makes this such a dynamic country”-Barack Obama. Throughout America’s history, immigrants have been a pivotal aspect on its economy and culture. America has always been a nation of immigrants, in fact during 1881 to 1920 nearly 23.5 million immigrants were welcomed by the American government with open arms. However, this phase ended when the U.S. government decided to put a limit on the number of immigrants accepted in the U.S. due to fear of communism. This country which was so often admired for its fairness and tolerance on immigration now has a broken immigration system which has become so cruel and unfair to businesses, workers, and families alike. President Obama strives to fix the United States’ many economic and social problems with his immigration reform. This plan, which promises temporary citizenship to qualifying immigrants, has put a strain in the relationship between the national and state governments. Texas’ current governor Greg Abbott is currently taking legal action against President Obama’s administration, he argues that President Obama’s immigration reform will hurt the economy. Greg Abbott is not only fighting Obama’s immigration reform but he is also making harmful decisions regarding the future of the Texas Dream Act. In order to understand the current immigration issues in the Unites States it is important to understand the recent changes

In the article “Coming Out Illegal” by Maggie Jones is about Leslie who is undocumented student that has some limitations going to college. She is History major in California their was law that was called AB 540 that was pass for all undocumented students to pay in-state rather than out-state tuition; California is one of 11 states with such law. Leslie is immigrant who came to Unites State when she was six year old. All her life she had to hide that she was immigrant. She wasn’t able to tell her close friends. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to visit her family in Mexico, voting, and also never able to have driver’s license. When she was senior in high school; she thought

The DREAM Act has been a contentious issue in the politics of the American immigration policy. First proposed in 2001, the Act has seen several unsuccessful reintroductions into the legislative process. It is mainly because of the contentious nature of the aims of the Act. It seeks to provide the undocumented Americans with an opportunity to live legally, either through a conditional or permanent residence status (Palacios 2). Essentially, the Act is “a pathway to citizenship for many college students” (Wilson).

When the Irish came to America they were persecuted and discriminated against, many not being able to find work being turned away with signs such as “Irish need not apply.” However, the real problem began when immigrants from South America began crossing the nation’s southern border to come here illegally. An estimated eleven million illegal immigrants are in the United States today. That is an increase of roughly one third since 2000, when there were 8.5 million illegal immigrants, according to the Center for American Progress.(Goldfuss) Also eighty-six percent of illegal immigrants have been living in America for seven years or longer.(LeMay) Many argue that becoming a legal immigrant is next to impossible and that it is “too hard” and the process takes “too long”, meaning that by the standards they have created there are not enough visas awarded and the process to legally emigrate takes too long, so they decide to take it upon themselves to commit a crime and cross the United States southern border. (Herreras) The current legal channel for people to become citizens is through getting either a green card or a work visa, which can be seasonal or year round.(U.S. Department of State.) However, there are only so may awarded so not every person will be able to enter America legally, but that does not give the right to the excluded for them to illegally cross into the country and act as if they are one of the ones which a green card or a