We don’t see the term “American Dream” truly come to life until we observe the successes of immigrants. As a first-generation college student, I will never know what it feels like to be in the shoes of all the parents who came here to give their kids a better life. I’ll never know how it feels to be threatened to be sent back to my home country only for wanting better opportunities. So many people have had to face these struggles just for wanting something so innocent and it hurts to see them being stripped away of their dreams. This article goes out to the people who are scared for our families’ futures— nobody deserves to be separated from their loved ones.
My parents came to this country with nothing but a couple hundred dollars and the hope that they’d find better opportunities. When I was a kid, my dad would tell me the stories of how he used to have to scrape the mold off his food because it was all he could afford to eat at the time. He told me about when he got his first big paycheck and he bought a truck but then, later on, got laid off due to the company having too many employees. I remember he said he missed his family so much but he swore he wouldn’t return until he could make enough money to prove he was making a good living in America. My mom has lived in The United States longer than she did in Mexico. My parents didn’t go to college, they barely finished high school and they came here to give us the opportunities they didn’t get, to give us the amazing lives they couldn’t have—and they never gave up. My parent’s story is only one of millions in this country, I owe my whole life to them.
Everyday we eat without a thought of where the food on our plate has come from. When we go to the grocery store and pick out our favorite vegetables and fruits we look for the ripest fruits but we don’t ever stop to think how these foods started off —as a reminder, the strawberry you’re eating covered in chocolate may have been handpicked by a mother that wishes they could take those $5.99-a-pound strawberries to her kids. The orange you’re currently peeling you might have bought from a father who desperately wants to put food on his table. And the flowers you’re arranging for your valentine were possibly bought from someone selling them on the street, someone who’s worried they won’t be able to sell all of them by the end of the day because if they don’t they’ll have to pay for all of them out of pocket. They’re not just an overpriced bouquet you bought off an immigrant on the sidewalk. People are blaming innocent immigrants for the wrongs in this country, but have these people realized that the wrong has been in front of our faces all along? Our current president is a felon with thirty-four charges and for decades, America has painted people with Latin or Hispanic heritage as drug dealers, job stealers, criminals, etc. But we are not the labels they put on us. This country is nothing without the people who bring their culture and hard work ethic to it; don’t bite the hands that feed you.
Anyone feeling threatened by current events, no matter where you’re from or where you are, there are people supporting you all around.
If you happen to have an encounter with ICE, know your rights: don’t open the door to an officer, you are not required to let them in unless they have obtained a search warrant, you have the right to remain silent—don’t answer any questions or even acknowledge them. Here is a resource where you review what you should or should not do.
If you want to lend a hand and advocate for those in need, go out and protest for what’s right. Although I’m not there to participate, there have been so many protests in my hometown in Southern California filled with people who are standing up for what’s right. Even my old high school principal has given the green light for students to leave school during the day and openly protest on the streets. I’m proud to say I’m from this town and to see all these people advocating for what they believe in gives me more hope than anything. There was also a massive protest on the 101 Freeway in Downtown Los Angeles; this protest gave me chills. To see my people hold so much power and walk down the freeway to advocate for their rights is so inspiring. I’m proud to call myself Latina, to tell the story of my family members and to stand with my people no matter what circumstances they’re in.