Throughout a recent course that I took in college, I have come to learn a lot about Latin America and all the struggles its people have gone through to be where they are now. The most important issue to me that we went over was Immigration between Central America and the United States. This is near and dear to me because I am a first generation Mexican American and fortunately the first in my family to attend college. I am very grateful for my parents and all the hardships that they have gone through to get me and our family to the point where we are now.
The main point throughout this unit in class that bothered me was how ignorant people can be towards the difficulties that others may be passing through. Many people often don't think about is what the people who are immigrating have to go through. They don't just decide to randomly get up and leave one day because they feel like it. So many things are factored into their decision, such as poverty, violence, safety, and family is why most people migrate to the United States or from one place to another. Most people are against illegal immigration because(at least this is what I believe) they don't understand the long and difficult process of migrating legally or the extreme necessity of having to escape your home country for another country in which so many opportunities are available. People don't leave their home countries because they want to, they do it because they need to.
The way that undocumented immigrants are treated is dehumanizing. They are shoved in warehouses with no clothing, little food, and into small spaces with large amounts of people. They are treated like animals, no one should be treated like that, especially after the arduous journey that they had to take. Everyone deserves the right to be able to look for a better life and to not be persecuted for it.
The border between Mexico and the United States is such a highly loaded term in illegal immigration. But I think that it is because the United States makes it out to be like that. I may be a citizen of the U.S., but I am also Mexican, and even myself when I go to Mexico am afraid of passing through the border. Legally nothing should be able to happen to me because I travel with a tourist visa but just knowing the types of things that can happen or that do happen to people at the border is terrifying.
It was very difficult to read and hear about the things that people like me went through and are still going through because our government is so unwelcoming. Minorities basically built the foundation of this country through hard manual labor and they are treated like trash. Even now in the present day, I don't understand how immigrants don't stand up for what they deserve, for the work they have done. We have strength in numbers and in dedication, and it makes me angry to think that I am here with an enormous amount of opportunities and aid, but America does nothing to help the other people, the undocumented immigrants, to share in this wealth that the country has. What is wealth if it can't be shared with those around you?
Throughout this course, I have learned a lot about Latin America and its numerous struggles it has gone through to become the entity it is now. Immigration is just a part of life and leads to globalization which honestly makes the world go around. Without these components, the world would be so bland, there would be so much uniformity and fewer advancements in our cultures, technology, economy, etc. I will always be a strong supporter of immigration because everyone deserves the right to be comfortable in their own home and be successful, or if not go looking for it.
