Attending school opened a new world for me. I had immigrated from Colombia eight years ago, and as an immigrant I faced several hurdles, such as the language barrier, the customs, the disadvantages of living in poverty, and the legalization in this nation.
As the years began to go by, all the hindrances began to vanish itself, it was more a matter of time and perseverance. When my senior year of high school arrived, I was very excited to apply to all the colleges of my choice, nonetheless, from the twenty-five that I applied to, none accepted me. They all claimed that my legal status was the primary reason to why they deny me.
Ouch! That very much hurt, indeed. Notwithstanding, I was able to stand up once again. It turns out, all I needed was
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For me, education has always been the answer to a better life and that much desired life, demands hard work. So why not send those applications once more. I pressed “send” about thirty times. Months later, the responses started to pop like popcorn do. Twenty colleges had accepted me, and I opted to attend Brandeis University.
At Brandeis, every time a student complains I can only be grateful for being there. I am so grateful I am getting an education, and that I am allowed to explore and dig deep into academics.
It “opened” a new world to me because I enter thinking I would be an English major, however, I switched to Comparative Literature and Hispanic Studies. I love the idea of finally getting to learn about my own culture. The downfall about growing up in a strange land, different to the one I was born in, is that I did not had the chance to learn more about my roots and where I come from.
Now that I am in college, it has made the difference. This summer, I had the opportunity to earn a fellowship that sponsored an unpaid internship in El Paso, Texas, in a publishing company named Cinco Puntos Press. The company works to diversify the book industry in the
After high school in Liberian, I matriculated to the University of Liberia. The determination to obtain a better and higher education motivated me to migrate to the United States a little over ten years ago. My academic journey in the United States commenced with an admission to Temple University and later transferred to Delaware County Community College where I earned an
The first time I arrived to this nation, I landed at the city of New York, where countless of immigrants, like me, once entered, what was and is known as, the land of opportunity. I’ve come to think that Ellis Island, the gateway to millions of immigrants to the United States, has remained in tact over the years to remind us that this nation was built and made what it is today by immigrants. The hurdles of being new to this nation approached life in different colors, forms and shapes. My English was undoubtedly limited and the few words that I could grasp did not allowed me to even sustain a conversation based on simplistic small talk.
Since Trump was elected to be the President of United States of America, he has been terrorizing immigrants here in the U.S. He tried many ways to eliminate and reduce the number of immigrants in the U.S. as much as possible. I recently discovered that President Trump is trying to end DACA plan. DACA or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals was initiated by Obama to helps undocumented immigrants traveling with children and allows their kids to stay in the United State to study, work, and they may obtain legal identifications. Now, President Trump decided to end DACA.
Hispanic Americans, or Latinos, are a very large and diverse ethnic group in the U.S. Altogether, they make up about 44 million people or 15% of America’s population. Individuals who make up this category can identify with various nationalities and backgrounds. However, the 2010 U.S Census – as stated in the textbook -- reported that 75% of its total Latino respondents identified being of Mexican, Puerto Rican, or Cuban origin. According to the lecture notes, 65% of Hispanics claim to be Mexican Americans, while 8.5% are Puerto Ricans and another 3.5% are Cuban Americans.
My family has always been the center of my universe. They’ve taught me the importance of being united and taking care of one another—because in the end, all we truly have is each other. My parents have raised me to be a good daughter, sister, and citizen. They’ve shaped me to be respectful, responsible, and virtuous, knowing these values will last a lifetime. But above all, my parents have instilled in me an appreciation and eagerness for education.
“The American story is a story of immigration. I would be the last person who would say immigrants are not important to America.” — Phil Graham, circa 1960. This quote may be from the mid-20th century, but it keeps its significance with the everlasting controversy on immigration and immigration laws. However, this is not the only time that the United States has experienced immigration controversies.
The Truth about Undocumented Students in the United States The issue of undocumented immigrants and undocumented children has hardly been out of the news these past few years. The hot topic affects everyone from immigrants themselves to policymakers and US citizens. Undocumented immigrants have typically entered the United States without permission and have no legal right to remain in the country. Undocumented immigrants could be people with expired visas or paperwork, or immigrants in deportation procedure.
When I came to this country, unlike others, my family had no experience with how things worked here. Which meant whatever I learned here, was just a new to them as it was to me. My education became more about encountering and trying new things than about succeeding. Because you can succeed if you don’t know how things worked around here. From the moment, I set foot in this country, I knew no one will ever give me anything on a silver platter.
I needed to show others that yes, I am not from this country, but I am capable of doing as good and if not better. Looking back, I can proudly say that my all my hard work ever since has paid off. Today, I am a thriving early college student. At the age of fourteen, I was accepted into an Early College High School that has allowed me to take dual credit courses since my freshman year of high school.
Disappointment. Betrayal. Deceived. All these terms are common themes in the writing of several immigrants during their journey to America. After reading many personal accounts of immigrants and learning about their expeditions to America, it became evident it is not as joyous a ride as many make it seem.
Compounded by the questions I stuttered and answered in my accent, “well I here because I have a break from school and I come to see me mother”. As the officer finished his scan of my paper work, I began looking around to see if I saw my mom or sister. Not knowing how they would look or if they would even have recognized me, standing with my escort/officer I began to scan the area looking for any sign of what I taught they looked like. Finally, I glanced at someone who I believed was my sister.
Among the illegal immigrants currently living in the United States, continuously crossing the borders and remaining in the United Stated with expired visas each year. Unlawful immigration once an issue of border states such as Arizona or Texas is now impacting all states around the country with problems. Illegal immigration affects all aspects of civilization, from the cost of education, government assistance, and public safety. There is also the matter of when local law enforcement who make it a personal mission to seek out undocumented immigrant 's harassment demanding documents. Although the Federal Government has all authority over the regulating of migration into the United States, the State and local law enforcement and communities are an essential role in improving on the immigration law, and it is effectively enforced.
It takes an abundant amount of time, money, and paperwork to legally immigrate to the United States. The first step of the immigration process is obtaining a visa, a step that was difficult for my parents. There are multiple types of visas, depending on the purpose why one wants to move to the United States, such an employment, family, refugee, immigration, and marriage visa. My father first applied here as an immigrant, and when he arrived in the United States, my mother applied for a marriage visa to join my father to start their new lives together. They both went to the United Nations office in Baghdad, Iraq, a complicated six-hour drive from Slemani, Kurdistan to proceed with the preliminary steps.
For decades, immigration has been a problem for the United States. Due to the people traveling from their native lands to the United States seeking a better life for themselves, and more primarily for the family that has come with them. Immigration is the action of settling into a country of which one is not native. Despite the many legal immigrants not every immigrant enters the country with legal documents and most of these illegal immigrants are poor and uneducated. Some undocumented immigrants commit crimes such as drug smuggling, or terrorism.
There are many cons of immigration and some pros of it. At this point, they just make it so easy for immigrants to get in whether they are legal or illegal. I would say that most of the people are legal but there are also some illegal ones for sure. One of the main cons of immigration can be the threat they have with terrorism. I say this because it has happened many times.