America, a safe haven filled with opportunities to many, especially immigrants. With these new executive orders in process, it seems America has forgotten how it was founded. May I remind you that America is a land of immigrants, established by immigrants. But from the looks of it, President Trump seems to believe that those one whose beliefs and skin color are different are a danger to this country.
As of Friday, the effects of President Trump’s executive orders of expanding the deportation and reduction of 11 million immigrants in the United States, has caused public outcry. Austin, Texas, being a highly populated city, has become one of the six areas ICE officials have raided. The “crucial” point in this order is targeted towards the immigrants who have been reported as convicted criminals, but this has been broaden to minor offenses or simply have no criminal history attached to them. The terror, worry, and frustration these people are feeling is unimaginable, as they are being seized within their own homes and workplaces. The ground they thought would protect them is now a land of fear, fear of being taken away from lives they’ve built here.
Protests organized in places like Milwaukee, has proved that so many people are being affected. The event, Day Without Latinos/Immigrants, expresses a movement of support to freeze and reject the two major immigration policies that are being enforced. The banning of an impractical amount of people has stirred those targeted to show what impact of the absence of immigrants. This is where people underestimate the power the voice of immigrants hold; they are standing up for what they are and have gained support all around. These types of protests are now being organized around cities like Austin, Philidelphia, New York, Washington and Boston, portraying the importance of their contribution to society and responding to President Trump.
I’m going to be honest here, I thought this new presidency was a joke. I doubted whether people would actually vote for someone who held such discriminative promises to this land. Somehow along the way, I kept my faith in people, hoping they’d understand that his campaign was merely a publicity stunt that would bring more harm than good. I genuinely feared for the future of this country once he took office. I still fear now more than ever.
His offensive speeches truly made my blood boil, not only because they were disrespectful, but because, as a hispanic, he criticized me too. According to President Trump, Mexico is sending the ill-equippped to America. To Trump, Mexico is forcing those supposed criminals and rapists into this country. He’s arguing the idea of immigrants being the cause of so many problems in America, when in fact they are the basis of our economy.
The majority of the Southern Texas’ population are hispanics/immigrants. As a hispanic and coming from a bordertown, I see the daily struggle of these people, the struggle and contribution America so blindly rejects. I see how the children get up every morning and cross the international bridge from Mexico to the U.S. just to receive a greater education, the first high school diploma in their family legacy. The men who are self-employed and the ones who take the lower end jobs nobody seems to want, don’t go unnoticed either. I’ve encountered people belittling immigrants, saying they should “go back to where they came from,” “they are not welcome here,” “they are taking ‘our jobs,’” but I wonder if they have ever actually stopped and thought to themselves how much harm are they are really causing to their own community. They are degrading are students, parents; the workers who wake up every morning, see each other and by midday are ripped away from one another. How can you look away from that and have no compassion? How can you dehumanize them for simply being immigrants? People are quick to judge and categorize them at the lower end of the spectrum; they tend to be openly opinionated about their culture but are quick to disregard their faults.
What people don’t understand is the severity of coming into a country illegally. I can’t justify their actions for breaking the law, but I justify it because in some cases, their lives are severely in danger. People don’t see the immense amount of poverty they are living in, the random street shootings, and the likelihood of being kidnapped or sold into human trafficking. Personally, I have known people who are doing things the right way—the legal way—and have been on the waitlist for residency for over 20 years with no progress. Now, just think of this, if your life and your family’s were at stake, would you stay or flee to seek greater opportunities at the cost of living in secrecy for the rest of your life?
I stand in solidarity with my people and everyone who has been affected by these actions. Together, our voices are louder.
If you’re an Aggie immigrant, there is a Know Your Rights Workshop happening on-campus provided by the College of Liberal Arts in collaboration with the School of Law. The informational sessions will be this Friday, February 17 from 4-6 p.m. at ARCC 105 (located in the Langford Building C). Pre-registration is required so please register here: tx.ag/rights. If you can not attend the meeting, there will be a livestream of this event: tx.ag/agora.