By Itzel Ramirez
Why should kids have to wake up one day with one less parent or none at all? Why should innocent families worry about who’s at the door? Why can’t all families stay together? I ask myself these questions all the time because many of my close friends and family must ask themselves those same questions because they are immigrants. Families are torn apart overnight and will never be reunited again under the same roof they were taken away from. Immigration isn’t the root problem at the border; it’s the life outside of those borders. The government should treat it as such. The solution isn’t to kick out the immigrants that live in the United States or to kill those trying to get in.
Immigration numbers are high, as hundreds of thousands of immigrants pay, swim, crawl, run, and drive to get to have the opportunity to live a better life in the United States. Now that the election is getting closer and closer, both political parties are working on plans to control the immigration crisis. Trump’s plan is to kick out as many immigrants as possible, although they help the economy and keep it running. The association of being an immigrant comes with an abundant amount of discrimination. Immigrants crossing illegally isn’t the problem; they come with good intentions of working, finding love, and creating the dream family/life they always desired, and deportation ruins it. With the rising tension with Texas and Mexico, I can’t imagine what laws will be passed supporting the deportation of immigrants and the reinforcement of the border. With the upcoming election, it’s going to worsen, especially if Trump gets into office. I believe that if the United States worked with other governments to improve their situation, it would lift the burden of dealing with immigration. The cause of immigrants coming into the States is not because they want to ruin and cause chaos. They need a place to run from the conditions of their homeland.
Immigration is a worldwide problem, but America by far has the most immigrants. In America there are approximately 45 million immigrants comprising 13% of the population. I call this a crisis, because it is. However, the government is trying to suppress the issue and not acting morally. Governors of border states try to secure the border with a variety of things, yet it still doesn’t do anything because people will always find a way. Immigrants don’t just come from Mexico. There are immigrants from India, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines, but approximately 24% of immigrants are from Mexico. The majority do go to America seeking a better life. As I’ve stated the root problem doesn’t start with the border nor the immigrant; it starts at the place of origin because of the conditions.
Focusing on the majority, Mexican civilians migrate for several reasons starting off with financial improvement. To demonstrate: 52.2% of Mexican citizens earn less than ten dollars a day and 9.9% earn less than $3.65 a day. Meanwhile, the United States has a minimum wage of $15/16 an hour. Clearly, immigrants come here to earn more money to improve their living and to send money back to Mexico to support their families that are stuck in the poverty. Isn’t this more than enough reason to let them live here?
The poverty in Mexico makes it difficult to earn money, and the amount they typically make is not sufficient for one person, let alone an entire family. Mexicans know their situation, so they either migrate to the United States for the opportunity for money or they make their kids work at a young age to keep the family fed and clothed. There are kids in my same grade in Mexico that are working instead of learning. They are out there working while I am sitting in French class. These contrasts show how people in Mexico try their best at providing, but sometimes it isn’t enough. They alone are not able to fix these problems. They need aid.
We need to help Mexico. People don’t leave everything and everyone because they want to. They do it because it’s necessary. If it were possible for Mexico to have the same economy as America, there would be no immigration crisis. They would want to stay with their families the same way you would. If they were able to thrive in their own land, they would. Immigrants don’t try to harm America. The forces that deport immigrants with no cause are simply being discriminatory towards Latinos. Everyone can coexist without trouble.
I strongly believe that if the economy crisis in Mexico were improved, many immigrants would return to their beloved homeland. Mexico is a beautiful place with great culture, but people need money to live. There may only be one good reason to migrate, (money), but that’s what the world revolves around. Without money, it’s impossible to do anything.
Photo credit: Guiseppe Mondi, Burst