A few years ago, if you asked someone what summed up the United States in the best possible way, many would answer "the American Dream". They would say, "Come here and make your dreams come true! Because this is the greatest country in the world." But year after year, the American dream that many people are still so tempted by is turning into "the American nightmare". We all, as citizens and people living in this country, need to stop dreaming for a moment and take a look at where our country is headed. Not just as the United States, but as the whole world.
Fear. Fear is a big motivator in any given aspect of life. Fear makes people do horrible things and fear makes people change for the better. So far, the fear that Trump is spreading around is not only destroying families, but not making America great again.
A little flashback: History does repeat itself.
Throughout history, the United States has not been the perfect country–not one bit. First, we wiped out of Native Americans (to them, we were the immigrants). Then there was hypocrisy during the wars of "remaining isolated" and the Japanese internment camps. The only difference between the other countries and us is the fact that the others owned up to the actions they were doing and the results of such. Unlike us, who stood behind a big wall of pride for being a country of freedom. What does it take for people to come together and create change? It takes too much tragedy and blood to get the message across. It takes destruction and death. Innocent lives are ruined and destroyed. It should not be this way. Not in this country—not anywhere. But no one listens to the cries for help until it's too late. Right?
"Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law' because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual."
-Thomas Jefferson
Ripping children away from parents makes me imagine a big cattle cart, pulling up to a big, electric, barbed-wire fence and seeing people in "pajamas". I think of big, scary soldiers with guns, pointing and pushing big crowds, only for a child to never see their parent again. Are they dead or alive? Imagine the questions that these kids are having when they should be wondering what they want to be in life or when they grow up? Or why the sky is blue? But they aren't. They wonder about the big scary men taking them away and why. Doesn't this sound familiar? Don't we know the result of this story? Do WE, as a country, not learn from other countries' and people's mistakes? Or do we just want to show that we are still in control? America is repeating history and this will turn into the destruction of the "great" country we once built with pride and joy.
These children are being brought for a reason and their parents are coming here with them for a reason. It is NOT to take away jobs, bring violence, rapists, drugs, or other accusations. THIS is what the majority of people are running AWAY from. These parents with children are coming because they know, or at least knew, that the United States could provide a better future for their children better than any other country could. It could open doors that they can't provide but wish they could. Why would a parent come with a child, risking everything, if they were bringing drugs? Or violence? Why would they RISK THEIR LIVES going through all that travel and desert?
Our new world and possible future:
What you're looking at now, through the news and on social media, is the zero-tolerance policy that just recently rocked our world. The official definition of "Zero-tolerance" is a refusal to accept the antisocial behavior, typically by strict and uncompromising application of the law. The Trump administration has introduced a "zero-tolerance" policy, calling for the prosecution of all individuals who illegally enter the United States. This policy has the effect of separating parents from their children when they enter the country together because parents are referred for prosecution and the children are placed in the custody of a sponsor, such as a relative or foster home, or held in a shelter. But from what we've seen, the first two statements are not the case.
More than 650 children were separated from their parents during a two-week period in May as a result of the new approach. 2,000 illegal immigrants were captured, counted, locked, and woken up from their American dream. This "remove all immigrants" promise that Trump made during his campaign doesn't come to us as a shock, but the whole case wouldn't be as shocking if their children didn't have to pay for this, too. These children are being held in cages, confused, lost, and crying. Would this pass if the child was not an immigrant? I believe it would not and that's what scares me the most. It scares me that we are quickly ruining a country built and established by immigrants. We are ruining the purpose and reason behind why the United States has always been and held the title as a "world power".
The very moral and purpose of our country is being controlled by fear and the unknown—with children, every day standing up and pledging allegiance to the American flag; "For liberty and justice for all." How do all of our actions as a country make us feel good? It makes us look like hypocrites through all these decades, preaching of the freedom and equality we are known for—the wars that OUR people, a collection of different races and immigrants, fought to protect our freedom, rights, and independence. Separating children from parents, holding them in terrible conditions? Treating not only all immigrants but also these children like they are the reason our country is in decline? That it is bad to be different? That being a certain person makes you horrible?
The Statue of Liberty is weeping today with the walls of division being built on her own grounds. These walls might not be materially built yet, but they already divide the whole world more than ever. It's not just here in the U.S. Many places have started building these walls of "zero-tolerance" a while ago. They've been built in the UK for years. They've been built by anti-immigration parties taking over many countries. The European Union fell apart because some places built walls that stand strong, even against war refugees.
"Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome."
- Rosa Parks
All of this makes being an immigrant harder. It affects many people's feelings of self-worth in a negative way. It makes us all feel like second-class citizens. It makes us feel unwelcome. People should not have to leave countries for fear of what their future holds. I remember that back in my senior year I read a book called "Interpreter of Maladies" and each story in the book held the hidden pain of the life of an immigrant. The author, Jhumpa Lahiri expressed how she grew up with so much self-doubt and the hidden motifs and symbolism that each story held. It was an eye-opening book that made me realize that the smallest action of neglect or judgment can ruin someone–how fear of different people make someone feel like their whole existence is wrong.
- Although this isn't on topic, all this hate toward people being different and not ideal to society crosses with the suicide and depression topic that everyone avoids. Do you see how one small action affects all others? (AKA, The Butterfly Effect)
As the Trump administration argues, referring immigrants for prosecution is not a new policy. Prior administrations did not enforce the practice in the way that Trump has. Before Trump came into office, families were detained together, "sent back immediately or paroled into the country", said Peter Margulies, an immigration law and national security law professor at Roger Williams University School of Law. The prosecution is happening across the board and has become the uniform policy. "The policy has ramped up substantially with the new administration," Margulies said. "Making that a staple of immigration policy is a new feature." Prosecutions were rare prior to the Trump administration, partly because they cost a lot of money and are time-consuming, Margulies said. "Previous administrations felt the broad use of the 'prosecute-first' option was needlessly harsh," he said.
The Trump administration has justified the policy by pointing to an increase in southwest border apprehensions in 2018. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said an "escalated effort" was needed to address a crisis at the southwest border. Sessions directed the implementation of a new "zero-tolerance" policy to prosecute all illegal entry referrals from the Department of Homeland Security. When an adult is referred for prosecution, a child traveling with the adult is turned over to the U.S. Health and Human Services Department. That agency is responsible for placing the child with a sponsor, while the child's immigration case is resolved. So where is all the help for the children? Who are these people helping? I understand that, yes, there are good people out there to help, but it is not enough. We are not doing enough.
"If we cannot now end our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity."
- John F. Kennedy
From May 6 to May 19 this year, 658 children were separated from their parents due to the zero-tolerance policy. The fact that previous administrations did not broadly prosecute all illegal entries contradicts Trump's claim that "we have to break up families." If you care about a future without racism for your children, a world without wars, and people being good to each other—if you care about your country being proud and free, please don't build those walls of "zero tolerance". Where we begin should never define who we can become.
THE HISPANIC RACE IS NOT THE ONLY RACE OF IMMIGRANTS IN THIS COUNTRY. The border along the south is not the only border that they should be concerned about. I am not being biased because I am of Hispanic descent. No, I am a citizen of the United States concerned for all its people and what we stand for. I am not a Trump hater, nor do I hate Trump supporters. I understand people's beliefs and views, respectfully, but that doesn't mean that I will agree. Just like not all Latinos are bad, not all Trump supporters are racist and bad. Everyone has their reason and the freedom to express themselves. It's how we react to it that causes the arousal in our society. I am stating the facts that are in front of all of us.
I am standing up for what I believe in and that this country CAN be great again. We, as the future generations, can make a difference in this world, but it shouldn't take the destruction of lives to make us stand up. It shouldn't be like past generations. Instead of moving forward with peace and change, we are moving backward toward inequality and fear. I am not angry at the world for the bad it brings or causes or at the lack of effort to remove the negativity. I am disappointed that those with opinions and voice hold back over fear.
We NEED those voices or else we will not be heard. Our cries for help—to help our country and its people—will not be heard if fear is silencing us. I know, as I've seen and experienced it, myself. This silence is not only destroying and affecting our country but the whole world. Our environment is suffering—our people and our future are in a danger zone if we don't change what's going on. Our lives and the world we need to survive are in danger. We shouldn't ask for change, we should be the change. We shouldn't sit and wait for things to get worse, we have to take action in order for things to get better.
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