My undocumented life In ‘’My undocumented life” like many others, Jose Antonio Vargas is an undocumented immigrant here in the U.S. He arrived on this country when he was twelve due to many economic crisis, after he arrived in Mountain View, Calif. He entered sixth grade starting the new life that was waiting for him living with his grandparents. Time had passed by, Jose was now sixteen, so he decided to go get his driver’s permit at DMV office when he handed the clerk his green card as proof of U.S residency she examined it saying “This is fake”.Life hasn’t been easiest since he has to lie and act like someone else in order to not get deported, he doesn’t have all the rights as a legal American citizen even though he works as hard as one.
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Show MoreIllegal immigrants are a fragment of a immense and controversial group. They are also known as being illegal aliens, irregular migrants, undocumented workers, or as the French call them, Sans Papiers. Over the years, questions and concerns have been raised as to rather society should have to provide and promote to meet their healthcare needs. A group that is called the nationalist argue “no”, because they have no right to be in the country they reside, they have no rights to the country’s benefits. Meanwhile, an opposing side called humanists say “yes” to providing them with healthcare benefits. The reason they suggested being basic human rights, or all people are entitled to all access to healthcare. Then, there is the author James F. Dwyer who has his own method.
I was born with a unilateral cleft lip and palate, this was devastating for my parents who had no idea of what was to come: years of rushing to doctor appointments, taking loans out for surgeries, having to see me being picked apart by my appearance, helping me recover from every operation, it was a burden most parents would never have to deal with. The pain of looking different was a big mountain to climb, I struggled for years with feelings of inadequacy and trying to get my physical appearance align with what was inside. Yet the NYU Langone medical center saved me. In the waiting room, I would meet many children with cleft disfigurations just like me, I was able to connect with them through the NYU medical center. It facilitated our sense of belonging, my parents were told this was the best place in the world to go for treatment. I first entered its doors as an infant, Dr. Cutting
Illegal: Life and Death in Arizona’s Immigration War Zone, by Terry Greene Sterling, portrays the real life hostile and highly debated immigration war waging in Arizona. This state is a major gateway for immigrants to enter into the United States (U.S.). In 2008, the estimated number of illegal immigrants living in Arizona peaked at 560,000 (González, 2012). In each chapter of the book, the author sheds light on the everyday struggles faced by undocumented immigrants living in Arizona. With each story, the reader learns how thousands of immigrants persevere despite the barriers and tribulations they face. In this paper, I will address the social problems, social welfare policy issues, and social values highlighted in the book. In addition,
America is a land of much promise. As immigrants chase the American Dream, they face tremendous challenges. They all know how difficult it is to try to navigate a foreign linguistic, political and cultural system, in search of basic necessities. In “Persian, English”, Jasmin Darznik recalled some obstacles she confronted and examined her complex relationship with the Persian language as a immigrant. In “Outlaw: My Life in America as an Undocumented Immigrant”, Jose Antonio Vargas, who has been living illegally in the U.S. since he was twelve years old, struggled to overcome his status as a “undocumented immigrant”—to fit in, to belong, the be accepted. In the process of working toward the American Dream, obstacles are always expected. Before
The author mainly focuses on the struggles of a man, Kevin Villanueva, who was deported because he was an illegal immigrant in the United States. The author focuses on his story of getting deported back to Honduras and how much of a culture change it was for him. The author also focuses on the struggles that occur when he was deported back to Honduras. Throughout, Kevin describes his whole journey, from almost dying in the hot desert trying to cross the border the first time to getting deported and seeing the struggles that the people of Honduras faced everyday.
In Cristina Henríquez’s novel The Book of Unknown Americans she presents her readers with a striking and dramatic tale of her definition of what it means to be an American with a certain community, and this community who just so happen to be composed of Latino immigrants in the United States. Through the trials and tribulation that is day to day life for these people with the added constraint of discrimination the group continues to prevail as a positive community. With this and a mostly pathos or emotional approach, Henríquez establishes an effective argument on the reality of who these “unknown” Americans truly are and not just the negative view that many Americans may gauge the group: such as criminals or intellectually inferior. With the utilization of the
On May 16, 2017 I interviewed Antonio Cuevas about what it means to be American to him. Life for Antonio has been hard because he came to America with the ideal American Dream every Hispanic has. During his life he faced struggles with no knowledge of writing or reading but he came along way without understanding of life in this country. Mostly alone but with the help of a relative he learned how to do his own signature. Antonio started working in landscaping in which he later on started his own company making enough money to support himself and make a living for not only him but for his wife and three children what later on became his everyday life up until now. Antonio always says la vida no es facil animo la vida sigue life is not easy cheer
The American Dream is having the opportunity to achieve many goals and dreams in America. There are opportunities to work, to receive an education, and for people to be able to do what they love and long for. The reality of the American Dream is not like the promise. Many people believe that the American Dream is when people come to America to get rich and that may be true, but it is not true for everyone. An example would be the short story, “America and I,” by Anzia Yezierska, where the tone progresses as she recounts her story of coming to America as an immigrant from false hope to a bittersweet reality.
Many people dream about living in the United States, where immigrants can earn a living and have the same rights as you and me. But, for one man who had a wife and a son; the dream of being a U.S. citizen was unrealistic. He worked long days in hot summer weather to cold frozen winters. He walked far distances to get to his job, working in a nursery day to-night. He earned less than five dollars an hour and lived in a small rundown apartment. The conditions in his job were tiring and dangerous. Always scared of being caught and deported back to his country, and he worried,”What will become of my wife and son if that happened?” He wanted his son to experience the “American Dream” and the joys and happiness of earning a living and having the
Do you ever feel like you have full control of decisions? People from one culture could have totally opposing views against another foreign culture. One might also appreciate their own culture in different ways. Cultures even have their own expectations but are not always achieved. Culture sometimes informs the way a person views others and the world.
In this short piece,"Assimilation, American Style," by Peter Salins' acknowledges America being welcoming of all nationalities, ethnicities, and backgrounds. Salin puts into retrospect the fact that America has given everyone a fair chance at their own culture at their choosing. Salin compares America's "freedom" to other countries use of assimilation by making them "up or out": Immigrants "up" to native cultural standard or they are doomed to live "out" of the charmed circle of the national culture, as mentioned in the article. Salin believes assimilation is beginning to work its way upon the "American way"-life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In this article, Salin attempts invoking that generations of new Americans that have been
Legal Alien by Pat Mora and Forgiving My Father by Lucille Clifton are poems that reflect sentimental values that connect with our society. However, a correlation and contrast exists between the two poems. On the one hand, Legal Alien is a piece of literature that describes the life of a person of hispanic descent struggling for social acceptance on a daily basis due to society’s racial perspective. With this in mind, there is a tension due to the character’s racial background that creates feelings of social exclusion that evolve throughout the poem. Additionally, Legal Alien is a poem that displays a tone of frustration and depression due to character’s lifestyle. On the other hand, Forgiving My Father portrays the main character’s
Do you know how an undocumented Immigrant lives in the United States? If not, one such immigrant, journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, wrote "My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant," published on June 22, 2011, in The New York Times Magazine, and responded the question with his life experience. He confided his secrets living in America, where he wasn 't supposed to live in. According to his words, he worked hard to enable maintaining in America, throughout, proving his value in America but just couldn 't get his documents. Vargas building his credibility base on the details of his personal affairs, convincing people to rethink about the undocumented Immigrants, and encouraging readers face the hardships and strive to make yourself better. However, towards the middle of his paper, he started to write about he 's gay weakens his purpose of the essay and
My mother was the first person to come to America in my family. She came from Ethiopia. My grandfather wanted my mom to have more opportunity so he sent my mom when she was a freshmen in high school. My mom was 14 when she went. My mom was scared because she had no idea and her being 14 and going somewhere she doesn’t know and leaving her family was very hard for her. My mom traveled as a unaccompanied minor on a plane. My mom was in America just for her school and her parents wanted for to stay forever but visit. She went alone but her parents did eventually see her 20 years later. She had to overcome a lot of stuff dealing with immigration. She had to find a relative willing to let them be there guardian and she had to get her green card.
Undocumented individuals have limited employment and career options and often are affected not only by the stigma of their status but by the fear and uncertainty they experience as they navigate different spaces (Abrego, 2011), this is perpetuated by the current political climate. Immigration is a historical foundation of the United States and thus has included continuous and shifting influx of immigrants throughout its history causing a shift in the acceptance and perception of immigration. Despite their “key role in shaping the American continent” (Adam, 2012) and their significant size, 11.2 million (Pew Research Center Hispanic Trends, 2015), this marginalized population is being ousted out of the United States. Indeed, throughout history