Dear America,
Undocumented immigration has been a hot topic during the 2016 presidential election. For some, the statements made by politicians—which more often than not echo common misconceptions about immigration—refer to personal realities. I come from immigrant parents that came to the U.S. over twenty years ago, looking for that American Dream and a better education than our home country of Ecuador could provide. My parents have always told me, your education will free you from this life and lead you onto bigger and better things. I always told myself I’m going to do great things in this world—I just need an opportunity. Entering high school I never knew about the college process or the things I should be doing to prepare myself for college. For years I was banging my head though walls figuring things out. Luckily I met the right people in high school who cared for me. But at home I was dealing with family and money problems as my father hadn’t had a stable job since 2009. My mother couldn’t work because she was undocumented, creating huge obstacles in our life. Money was always tight, which made it hard to pay bills. I couldn’t afford a nice phone like the rest of my classmates in school. Frustrated by all these problems, I found myself cutting class and adventuring off into the city, keeping my mind off of things at home, gambling in card games and playing handball to make money. Eventually, my grades started to drop because of my lack of attendance, but somehow I always managed to pass because I taught myself everything. The following year I was accepted into an AP physics class, which I enjoyed. I was doing well the first few marking periods when bam. My best friend, my life, the person that was always there when I had nobody to talk to and always understood me—my grandmother—passed away. For two weeks I was paralyzed, feeling worthless, starting to cut class again. I was angry; I really wanted to attend my grandmother’s funeral, but my dad couldn’t afford to fly me. My mother couldn’t go either because she didn’t have papers. The saddest thing of all was my mother unable to go to her own mother’s funeral. How could you make a mother choose between her children or her own mother? This anger lasted months, but soon I was slowly getting back on my feet. Later that year, a prestigious program at Columbia accepted me take college seminar classes with a Columbia professor during the summer. That summer changed everything for me. I told myself that I’m definitely going to college to benefit my family and give my parents what they truly deserve for all their sacrifices for me. My senior year started out pretty well, but soon I found myself bombarded with responsibilities. My mother had finally found work in the city, cleaning houses and apartments. It wasn’t much, but it was something to get by and pay the bills. Some days I would have to go straight home to clean, cook, and take care of my sister. We were superintendents at the building we lived in, so our living was paid, but we had to take out the trash from the building twice a week and mop and sweep once a week. Besides this I was also doing things inside the house. I felt physically and mentally exhausted and again started to slack at school. Making these personal realities more difficult have been the many myths floating around about undocumented immigration, repeated by our current presidential candidates. For example, Donald Trump promoted the myth that undocumented immigrants bring crime to the United States when he made the notorious statement, “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best...They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.” But immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than native-born American citizens. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, “18-40 year old male immigrants have lower institutionalization rates than the native born each year...and by 2000, immigrants have institutionalization rates that are one-fifth those of the native born.” In fact, most immigrants are extra cautious about avoiding crime as it runs the risk of deportation. There’s also the myth that undocumented immigrants steal jobs from American citizens. This myth has to do with the misconception that the economy can only harbor a fixed number of jobs. But the number of jobs in the economy is not static; more workers mean more people buying goods and services, which is better for the overall economy. Studies actually show that native-born workers’ wages rise with the number of undocumented workers in their county or with their employer. Yet politicians like Donald Trump still claim that undocumented immigration is “hurting us economically.” Being a first generation American with an undocumented parent is a hard struggle for anyone to bear. Being worried that they might take your parent away is a lot to keep on your mind at all times. Simple things like taking a trip or going on vacation are risks, as is working to make an extra buck for the family because people see an undocumented person as someone to take advantage of or as a threat to their own economic stability. I hope that this year our candidates for this next presidential term see the struggles and obstacles that undocumented people go through. At the end of the day we are all striving for that American Dream, and the values of our founding fathers—life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—should hold true for all men and women. I hope that new immigration policy is on the minds and political platforms of these candidates, and that they stop buying into the common myths about undocumented immigration. Sincerely, Edgar Researcher: Corina Rodriguez
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