A husband and wife smile down at their young children. The children, murky and covered in dirt, wash their hands with filthy water and quietly eat dinner with their parents. Once they finish, they scrape the remaining pieces of their food into the trash. Their mother “cleans” them before bed, splashing weeks’ old, dirty water onto their heads. As she rejoins her husband, who waits patiently in bed, she lies down in silence: suddenly, tears burst from her eyes. As her husband tries to console her, the realization dawns on him: they have to leave Mexico. As the sun creeps along the horizon, he wakes his family up. They pack all their necessary belongings in one suitcase, mentally preparing themselves for the grueling endeavor they signed up for. A day passes. Then 2. Then 7. The family rests behind a picket fence, hopefully hidden under a bunch of bushes. Suddenly, a light flashes on them. Their lives were about to drastically change, more so than they ever thought it would.
This single family represents thousands of desperate, starving parents and children currently living in terrible conditions, hungry for a better life. However tragic their story is, politicians will ignore their cries for help and stereotype them to prevent access into the country. Since Donald Trump rose to power after the 2016 election, the topic of immigration spread like wildfire throughout the news. His rather explicit campaign planted seeds of doubt in citizens’ minds about Mexican immigrants and their intentions of living in the United States. While Trump fought for his position as the most powerful man in the United States, he claimed that when Mexican immigrants cross the border into the United States, “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists” (Mark). With such strong acclimations against Mexicans, Trump received an assortment of reactions for his statement, including displeasing disbelief or absolute amazement. His impulsive plan of action to build a wall between the border of Mexico and the United States gained him votes primarily because he promoted a plan in the first place instead of leaving the problem floating in the air. The root of the problem stems back to the growing list of laws that have been implemented by Congress as an attempt to regulate the immigration flow into the US. Although the United States proudly represents inclusion of different cultures, their laws and regulations against immigrants emphasizes that the powerful political system minimizes proper representation for immigrant families, pays little attention to their needs and protection, and ultimately deters hopeful citizens in their dreams of becoming a legal American citizen.
The evolution of modern immigration laws traces back to several bills passed by Congress in efforts to regulate the increasing overflow of immigrants. The first immigration bill was created in 1965, where “large numbers of immigrants…will immigrate to the United States each year and that this number will continue to grow in the future” (De la Garza et al. 11). President Lyndon B. Johnson exclaimed that this act replaced the former immigration system that “‘violated the basic principle of American democracy…’” and allowed admittance to those who fought for their residency in the United States (Kerwin and Warren 4). This bill included immigrants who were legal or unauthorized and unfortunately failed to implement regulatory actions to prevent the amplifying number of illegal immigrants in the United States. Despite Johnson’s good intentions, this law poorly discussed the preliminary actions for the illegal immigrants entering the country. Several years later, in 1986, Congress composed of a resolution to this issue with the Immigration Reform and Control Act. This act “required employers to document…the eligibility of all new employees to work in the United States” (De la Garza et al. 11). This greatly limited the number of illegal immigrants found in the US by legalizing about 2 million workers (De la Garza et al. 11), which can be perceived as a small victory for those entering the country. Despite this law, the increasing numbers of immigrants, especially from Mexico, arose to great lengths. As several years pass, the 1990s appeared as the decade that would ultimately peak in immigration reform; however, the laws created during this time failed to limit the continuous development of unauthorized immigrants and raised concerns for the general population. With an effective approach for change yet to arise, illegal immigrants and US citizens alike patiently waited for what the new century would bring for this issue.
In the 21st century, with president George W. Bush in office, the United States as a whole wondered what solutions he would provide for the increasing illegal immigration in the United States. However, as President Bush attempted to reform the immigration system in 2001, the awful terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, wrecked the country to tears, and therefore he had to abandon any focus on immigration policies to mend the broken bonds of the US after this disaster. Three years later, as 2004 approached and the nation slowly patched itself from the horrors of 9/11, Bush dedicated time to immigration again, with talk of “increased border security and a guest worker program” (De la Garza et al. 16). With much deliberation, he established the H.R. 4437, which concluded that if you were unauthorized or if you assisted anyone who was unauthorized, into the country, you could be prosecuted or potentially deported from the US (De la Garza et al. 16). This law caused protests of over 5 million people “in more than 150 cities” (De la Garza et al. 16), largely immigrants who were concerned about the seemingly grave consequences of being an unauthorized immigrant.
Despite the numerous protests, the Senate continued passing bills to prevent the entrance of more illegal immigrants, such as the 2006 Senate bill, S. 1348 (De la Garza et al. 19). This bill provided stronger border enforcement and stricter opportunities for legalization. For example, a potential US immigrant “could apply for a temporary visa that would last for eight years, at which point they can sign up for permanent residence” (De la Garza et al. 20). Even if a family signed up for the visa and dutifully followed the conditions for eight years, the process required for permanent residence could also require time, disheartening any hopeful immigrants with the reminder that they are not legally accepted in the country. Years pass with a new president assigned to office in 2012. With President Barack Obama in power, immigration enforcement focused more so on those who either committed a crime or were previously deported from the US (De la Garza et al. 23), attempting to separate genuinely good citizens and people who only harbored criminalities with them. The most prominent law passed during Obama’s presidency in 2012, titled Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), allowed eligible recipients 2 years to work without worry that they would be deported for not being a legal American citizen (De la Garza et al. 24). DACA applies to young adults who entered the United States as children under 16 years old due to their parents’ wishes rather than their self will. Although the program highly benefits young adult immigrants, raising hope for these young adults, alleviating their fears as they walk by a police officer, it does not address older adults that come into the country. This leaves the parents of these DACA children to fend for themselves. The political system changed in worrying about the actual people who want full US citizenship status into making the system almost impossible to beat, driving hardship after hardship for these hardworking people.
Latin Americans are increasingly aware of the life-threatening risks of crossing the border, even though they still attempt to make the perilous journey for various reasons. A popular Mexican and Central American type of song ballad, called migra corridos, are broadcasted throughout large Spanish-speaking communities, emphasizing the grueling hardships of those who “‘cross by the border’” (Lorenz). A version of migra corridos that the US government specifically shares exists so that migrants are dissuaded from trying to pass the border. Along with the hindering messages, the US also contributed “billions of dollars…on walls, sensors and drones” in order to attempt to block illegal immigrants from entering the country (Lorenz). Instead of keeping the immigrants away in a humane manner, these increased security measures increase “migrant death and suffering along the border” (Lorenz). This demonstrates how the paradoxical implementation of these security measures does not simply protect citizens inside the US, but destroys humans labeled as aliens and therefore disposable in protecting US citizens. There are countless stories displayed in the media that discusses the heartbreaking accidents that kill innocent people who are trying to provide a better life for themselves. Salvadoran man Oscar Alberto Martinez Ramirez and his two-year-old daughter, Valeria, tried to escape a border shelter by traveling along a river into the US (Jervis). “Search teams find their bodies 12 hours later, 500 yards downriver” (Jervis). This is just one simple storyline that represents the thousands of families that are dying, being torn apart, and will risk everything in order to achieve better lives. Ever since President Trump came into office, the border between Mexico and the United States have left “officials ill-equipped to respond to migrants at unneeded risk” (Jervis), making it difficult for everyone involved in the issue, including immigrants, lawyers, and government officials. Without the improvement of the conditions of the awaiting US citizens from other countries, the likelihood of their deaths will increase due to governmental issues rather than the actual journey into the country.
Opposers would say that the top priority in terms of immigration regulation includes the prevention of any incoming crimes from other nations invading our country, for the US has its own problems to deal with. In a 2016 dispute between Mike Pence and Tim Kaine, Kaine presses Pence about Trump’s perspective on immigration, specifically those from Mexico, how the “aliens” need to be kept away from the States (Costa et al.). Political figures such as Donald Trump believe that harsh restrictions on immigration laws are beneficial for current US citizens. Trump includes in his campaign that incoming immigrants will steal the jobs of the current minorities in the US as a method to earn votes (Costa et al.). These jobs include “low-skilled jobs” that are typically built for “both immigrants and US-born citizens with low levels of education or job skills” (De la Garza et al. 91). This means that more competition will erode from the increasing flow of immigrants with those who already reside in the United States for these low-paying jobs. Theoretically, this will result in an exponential number of unemployed immigrants, scrounging for one, two, three jobs to maintain an appropriate standard of living.
Unfortunately, with the increased security breaches along the border, immigrant deaths rise in numbers with every year Trump is in office. His assumptions that most people breaking into the country are criminals are based on ignorant stereotypes rather than anecdotal evidence. For example, Guatemalan Jaime Escalante Galvez, his wife Leydi Gonzalez, and their 2-year-old daughter Adriana “[were] fleeing poverty and…armed thugs who regularly stole half of Escalante’s earnings” (Jervis). With the escalation of casualties from these dangerous journeys to reach the United States, competition for employment would cease to exist because they fail to make it inside the country. With the terrible circumstances surrounding these poor lives prematurely taken away, the government should primarily worry about the spilled blood on their hands rather than employment status. Before ridiculing Latin American immigrants and assuming they only smuggle crime into the country, political figures need to acknowledge that these “aliens” are humans as well, even if they seem foreign on US soil.
The immigration laws throughout history continuously stack the odds against incoming immigrants from obtaining full US citizenship status. As demonstrated, the improved security measures only eliminate more lives than they protect. The importance of this issue spreads throughout the nation in the forms of social media and the news almost everyday. Families should not separate due to someone else’s manipulation. A mother should never witness her husband and daughter floating away in a river, slowly approaching painful deaths that no one should endure. If political figures fail to recognize that the increased border protection causes these premature deaths, then nothing will improve in immigration policies.
Consider the outcomes that would arise from a change in immigation laws for families from beyond the border. The mother and father, along with their two kids, slide under the picket fence that separates Mexico from the United States. Although they knew they violated numerous laws to reach where they are, they know their endeavor has just started. The application for a visa and permanent residence is going to be more complicated for them. However, they have lawyers, jobs, dedication, and hope. With all this to consider, the political system will eventually trust them enough to make the right choices and become astounding US citizens. Or so this is the dream. But at the current rate of the laws and regulations, this dream for this family cannot manifest into a reality. Only active political reform will improve their chances of experiencing their ideal lives.
Works Cited
Costa, Robert, Fahrenthoid, David A., & Johnson, Jenna. Kaine, Pence get into Bitter Dispute
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De la Garza, Rodolfo O. & DeSipio, Louis. US Immigration in the Twenty-first Century: Making
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Mark, Michelle. Trump Just Referred to One of His Most Infamous Campaign Comments:Calling Mexicans ‘Rapists’. 5 April 2018, https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-mexicans-rapists-remark-reference-2018-4. Accessed 4 November 2019.
