A foundation in immigration

While scrolling through one of my favorite websites the other day I came across a quote that read, "Dear Americans, Old immigrants shunning new immigrants… Sincerely, Clever." This quote holds a lot of truth. With the upcoming elections, one of the major topics of debate is border security and the proposed legislation of limiting or possibly stopping immigration to the U.S.

I come from a family that immigrated to the U.S. several generations ago in search of a better life for their family. This is what our country was founded on. People came to the U.S., set up towns, and worked to make our country what it is today. They were not born here, nor did they  have to go through strict testing to get here. The U.S. was founded on the backs of people who were escaping persecution and looking to start over in a new land in order to create a  better life for themselves and their families.

My home town is a country town. Many of my friends have lived or worked on farms for the majority of their lives. When I was younger, there was a girl who moved into our town and started going to school with us. She quickly made friends and became popular. Everyone loved her and to this day I remember how sweet she was. Suddenly, she was taken out of school. We never saw her again.

A few years later I found out what happened to her: she was an illegal immigrant whose family had come to work on the farms to provide a home for her and her little brother. They were deported back to Guatemala. I still have no idea what happened to her. But I believe that it is not fair to take away the safety and security of a child and force them to go back to a place where they are  in constant danger. My friend was too young to be able to help herself, but she believed that here in the U.S., she would be safe.

I have yet to meet even a handful of people who can tell me that their family has lived here since before the Americas were settled. Most of our ancestors were illegal aliens too and they stayed to claim this land as their homeland. Why should people now complain that there are still those who want to do the same?

Sure, there are limited jobs and limited resources in the U.S. However, U.S. companies are still sending their work to places like India and China where they can get away with paying workers less.

The U.S. is fixated on getting cheap labor for their products. The people who come here looking for jobs, whether legally or illegally, are willing to work for minimal amounts of money (often below minimum wage) because it is still better than the jobs they would have had back in the country they came from. They are willing to take the work that some Americans will not settle for because they need the money.

It is unfortunate that America has become so fixated on money because people are failing to see things beyond this aspect. They say that the immigrants are taking their money. But the truth is, American citizens have so many luxuries that only the wealthiest in other countries can afford. We have it good here and we often don't realize it.

The U.S. should focus on helping out  other countries not focusing on rising above all of the others to be the best. If we focused more on helping others and got away from a closed-minded monetary focus we would be much better off.

Immigration to the U.S. should not be stopped. The people who illegally cross our borders are doing it to better themselves or give their family a better life – isn't that what U.S. citizens should want for others? We already have rights and typically live better off than citizens of other countries. It is our duty as a country founded "for the people" to help out those people, wherever they are from, legal or otherwise.

rodrig31@canisius.edu