By: Daniela Martinez
March 1, 2018
Opinion Piece
Similar to things in life, nothing in this ever-changing country is ever a guarantee. Immigration has become one of the many topics that have been in the spotlight ever since the last presidential election.
The Trump Campaign, and now administration, would actively and explicitly describe immigrants, especially of Mexican descent, to be rapist, lazy, and the reason for the lack of jobs in America. Let’s not forget the campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again”, that allowed for people to use it as a motive and reason to promote discrimination, violence, and anger against anyone who wasn’t part of the majority.
Now, after being elected, Donald J. Trump, is still attacking immigrants. The 45th president immediately rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or also known as DACA, an act placed by the Obama Administration in 2012 that allowed immigrant children that were brought by their parents at a young age, to give them temporary legality to attend school or get a job.
The DACA was seen as an enlightenment of new immigration reform in America, and it brought hope to immigrant families. However, the 45th president and his administration is not the only political party that establish harsh policies against immigrants.
From the Texas Rangers that were created in 1832 to specifically hang Mexican Americans for looking like immigrants, to ICE acting like police officers to harass and arrest immigrants today, the lives of immigrants have been surrounded with harsh policies and terror of being deported to a country that is no longer their home.
Despite legality being a social construction, it is embedded in polices and ideologies of modern society. Where you were born, and a piece of paper determines whether you are seen as a member of the group contributing to the greater good of society. If you do not have these traits, then the individual or group is seen as a second-kind of group from, in the words of the president, a sh*thole country.
On the news, social media, or any other medium of communication, we see people defined by labels and stereotypes. There are videos of people being separated from their families, children crying over the lost of their parents, and desperate goodbyes. Immigrants are living in constant fear without being able to participate in any social services.
The life of an immigrant is difficult because of the limitations they face. They do not have the opportunity to play for FAFSA, get a job, or simply get a driver’s license. It is different to find stories of the hardships immigrants face because of the fear of deportation. Until recently, support groups like PASO, an organization that defends the rights of immigrants in multiple levels such as legal. Their website can be found at: http://www.pasoaction.org/
Immigration can be a long and passionate conversation. As a society we should go beyond our prejudice and remind ourselves that legality, like many other labels, is a social construction.
Photo Courtesy: PASO Facebook Page
