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Struggles of undocumented students 2018
Immigrant student struggle
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Growing up in a Latino community has humbled my vision of life in this country. Experiencing the societal effects that immigration policies and economic policies have on Latinos first hand has impacted me tremendously. My parents immigrated to this country hoping to find a better life for themselves and their kids. Unfortunately, being undocumented presents various challenges in this country. For this reason, since I was around 7 years old I would help my mother and father work. I still remember going to, what seemed to me at the time, as gigantic houses with my mother wondering why the kids there didn’t have to help their mothers work like me. The idea of socioeconomically privileged cultures ultimately became a topic I learned at a young age and became something that motivates me to succeed still today. …show more content…
When I would get out of school and on weekends, my father would pick me up to go help him work. During summer even working up to 30hours. All the money I would make in tips from working would go towards my family. My personal experiences of work hard days labor since I was a young age has ultimately propelled me to seek higher education and fight for the better life my parents have sacrificed so much pf their lives for. Going to college not only benefits me and my life, but also provides a good influence for my brother, sister, and cousins to seek higher education. I believe the hardest thing is to be the first generation to go to college, and from personal experience it is. But I have worked and studied all my life to hopefully pioneer a path for future generations in my
The Latino Generation: Voices of the New America is a book written by Mario T. Garcia. This book tells the individual life stories of individual Latino Americans all attending the same class at University of California, Santa Barbra. The book discloses stories and events told by 13 students each who narrate from first person and give us a brief description of their life. The book is composed of 13 sections with an additional introduction and conclusion (Garcia, Kindle). Within this reflection I will describe the key points within this book and compare the stories within this book not only to each other, but also to additional stories of Latino Americans and how Garcia’s book rids the general public of misconception of Latinos.
Growing up, the biggest challenge I faced was being a first generation Latina student. My family came from an extremely rural neighborhood in Guanajuato, Mexico called La Sandia. Both my parents achieved up to 5th-grade education in their hometowns. They decided to sacrifice their lives in Mexico to provide a better life for their family and then decided to migrate to the U.S to achieve what many people consider the American dream.
My parents refused to pay for my car, gas, and education so that I could gain the full experience that life has to offer. Working late hours as a waiter and on the back of a garbage truck has made me a stronger person and I see the value of hard work. Unlike Henry Adams, the education that I am receiving at FAU will be more than just a "regular step". This will be an experience that I have earned and therefore care much more about than he did. At FAU, I will encounter those who come from more and less
There are about 7 billion people in the world; each one of us is different in our own way. Everyone has had different life experiences, some good and some bad. This world is full of cultures that aren’t the same. Being Mexican-American has made me who I am today because I come from a different culture. I know both of my languages, English and Spanish. Also it has built my character.
A diverse minority group of Latino and Spanish-speaking peoples has played an important part of what it means to be American and what it means to be a citizen in the United States today. Moving into the future, in order to analyze the trajectory that this group is in, we must first understand the group’s history in the United States and in territories that would become the United States. In addition, we must look at the origins of the most recent wave of Latino immigration in order to understand their current effect on American society and the intersection between both minority and majority groups. Finally, we get to the apex of this investigation: what lies in the future for Latino Americans in the United States? Although Latino Americans have been portrayed by the majority American culture as a lazy, thieving, and dirty people, their presence in the United States has immensely contributed to it’s development socially, economically, and politically, and their continued presence seems integral to the future of an America that is fast arriving at an age-related demographics problem that threatens our continued prosperity and the solvency of the Social Security system.
Eleanor Roosevelt said, “the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” That statement holds strong for immigrants in America. Equal access to opportunities allows immigrants to achieve the American dream. Their success correlates with America’s success because of the contributions immigrants provide to America. Unfortunately, the current immigration policy in America denies many immigrants the American dream. It is crucial to understand the historical context of immigration in America. Initially, most immigrants were from Europe and were not restricted by any immigration laws. Now, most immigrants come from Latin America but are restricted to severe immigration laws. The Latino/a community is one of the most severely affected groups because the current immigration system disproportionally affects Latino/as. Recognizing how the experience of Latino/a immigrants have been both similar and different in the past from other immigrant groups and dispelling common misconceptions about Latino/as today bring an awareness how Latino/as are affected.
Since before I was born, my Hispanic heritage played a huge role in who I am and what I have achieved. My great-grandfather immigrated to this country with the desire to provide his family with a better future than his own. My grandpa grew up in Texas on the boarder of Mexico and traveled to Blue Island, Illinois as migrant crop worker. This desire passed down by my grandparents and my great-grandparents has played a tremendous role in propelling me to where I am today. Each generation sought to make the the lives of their children better than their own. My grandma received the opportunity to live in the country of opportunity from her father, and my grandpa paid for my mom to get an education. My mother pushed me to do my best in school and
Immigration has always been an issue in the United States, which is often portrayed as harmful and as major threat to American culture. As a result, various anti immigration policies have been aimed against immigrants in order to prevent and preserve the miscegenation of American culture, such as English only policies. Among the largest minority groups in the U.S, are Latinos who currently compose of 15% of the U.S population (Delgado and Stefancic 3). Unfortunately, Latinos have been accused of taking American benefits, jobs, and have wrongfully been depicted as a result of not assimilating to American culture. Latinos are often accused of resisting assimilation, but what has failed to be acknowledged is that there are obstacles set in place that are preventing Latinos from completely assimilating. Among those greatest obstacles there is discrimination. Institutional as well as individual discrimination have prevented many Latinos from feeling a sense of belonging. As a result Latinos have been reluctant to assimilate. Another major component is proximity. Many Latinos are native to nearby countries which allows for easy communication with family members as well as their culture. Moreover, it also allows for a constant influx of immigrants that replenish and preserve Latino cultures and traditions in the U.S. Lastly, Latino movements are working diligently to promote unity among communities for the purpose of creating a sense of identity and pride amongst Latinos, such as the Chicano movement.
which I feel that I have the best of both worlds. Along with my mother’s
In the Rothenberg section, "Immigration Enforcement as a Race-Making Institution" grabbed my attention on the facts of the Latino immigration patterns. A lot of the details reminded me of my father. Back in the mid-1980s, my dad crossed the border in a not so legal manner. In the Rothenberg book, it mentioned the dramatic increase of undocumented immigrants coming into the United States around the 1980s. I chuck at the idea that my father is part of that statistic. My father would tell me stories of him as a kid. My father was in a huge family of eight. In order for my grandpa to support everyone, he asked some of his older children to work at an early age. He would ride his bike around trying to sell gum to earn some extra income to attend
I am a young Latina professional attempting to set forth a good precedent for my sisters, and be the best human I can be. I am an immigrant from Jalisco, Mexico. First to graduate high school and soon will be the first to graduate with two bachelor degrees from University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Latin American Studies and Political Science. I am a fashion lover who loves reading and knowing everything about social sciences and random trivia. Bad at every sport, but does not kill my motivation to try everything, learn about it, and try it at least once. I have been in and out between Jalisco and Nevada my whole life, but made a permanent move 6 years ago for school.
My ultimate motivation is to go above and beyond the stereotypes and assumptions about Latinos, even when I am surrounded by a society of negativity. It is often a struggle for undocumented immigrants to get the full benefits
Growing up with immigrant parents was unique; I had expectations set for me from a young age. My family reminded me often that the lack of opportunity for them was why they worked labor jobs and had a hard life. Up until high school I took it all as a positive reminder that anything is possible if you work hard. Then I get to college where my perception of reality and the “American dream” changed. I learned about systemic racism, mass incarceration and gentrification. I saw it first hand when I worked as an advocate for lower income students and their families. I started piece together why certain communities weren't thriving while others did. I realized how problematic the comments about how ungrateful certain impoverished communities are. That if they worked harder and didn't take advantage of the welfare they'd be better off. It saddens me to say this was all coming from people of color that I knew or related to.
Given the hostile atmosphere encompassing people of color, I have become increasingly worried for my family's livelihood. I am the only one, in my family of five, with a U.S citizenship. A U.S citizenship is taken for granted by so many people and it is a must in this country's social and economic infrastructure. Without it, my family has been through many hardships when it comes to jobs and travel. Especially now, given the recent political climate when it comes to immigration, I question why I am lucky enough to have a U.S citizenship. I never really thought about my place in this world until I was introduced to the various prejudices society has placed on my culture.
My parents have this perfect life for me pictured in their heads, and the first thing they see me doing is going to college. They expect the best of me, and so by going to college, I will not only have fulfilled their goals for me, but I will have accomplished one of the goals I have set for myself. In our culture, when parents come to the age where they can’t support themselves, it is the duty of the children to look after them.