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Marlene Martinez

Ms. Kavinsky

AP Lang Per. 4

March 2, 2017

American Dream

Mexican Immigrants don't come to the United States for fun but because of need. Lots of

Americans think immigrants are bad people. They are just here because the United States will

provide them with life essentials they won't have to work for. Another thought is they are just

here to take our jobs when they can work in their own country. They think immigrants are

criminals who deserve to be in jail. They think immigrants won't excel in school they are just

taking up space. That's not the case. Those are all just stereotypes that might be true for some

immigrants but not all. The majority of immigrants come to work to provide their family a better

future. But they don't always succeed. Immigrants are constantly being put down for not

speaking english, for mistakes other immigrants have made and because of the stereotypes. They

aren't being given the opportunities they need.

Why Immigrants come to America

Life in Mexico isn't like life in the U.S. They are two completely different places not just

economically but socially as well. Three reasons why immigrants chose to leave Mexico are

crime, unemployment and poverty and climate and natural hazards. We shouldn't judge them for

coming to the U.S. but instead listen to their reasons.

Unemployment in Mexico has grown greatly from 2000 to 2010. In 2000 Mexico had an

unemployment rate of 2.2 and in 2010 they had an unemployment rate of 5.37 [Jackson]. The
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land they farm on to get their money's no good so they have no way to make money. Mexicans

come to America to look for a job that they will be able to support their family with. Coming to

America is there only other choice due to no employment in Mexico. They hope that coming to

America will give them the economical boost they need to raise their children in a stable

household.

Many come to America to escape the violence. The frequent drug wars in many Mexican

states have Mexican citizens scared. About 40% to 50% of homicides are organized crime-style

homicides. in the past five years, 47,500 people have been killed in crimes related to drugs

[Jackson]. Immigrants don't want their children exposed to drugs and drug related violence. They

want to escape the violence in their country. So they see America as a place of less drug related

crime where they will be safe. Once they get to America it is safer but they are thought of as the

criminals. They are seen as the ones smuggling drugs into the U.S. This is due to the fact that

Mexico is a drug related country.

Mexico suffers from many climate and natural hazards. Whether it's things they can't

prevent like natural disasters, or water shortage in almost all parts of Mexico. 42% of Mexico's

total population is living below the national poverty line [Jackson]. They see it as a reason to

leave Mexico. Immigrants see themselves having better lives in America. America’s living

standards are much more improved than those of Mexico’s. Where it's better shelter, food,

education and health related benefits.

These are just three of the many reasons immigrants decide to go to the U.S. They don't

have job availability in their country so they go to the U.S. in search of a job. They want to

escape the crime around them so they turn to the U.S. which is much safer. They don't want their

children to live in poverty so they go to the U.S in hopes they will have a better life.
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Benefits of Migrating to America

Immigrants migrate to the U.S. because there are many ways their family can benefit

from. They come to America in search of the american dream, in search for values and in

America “work is a core value”. They come here for better educational opportunities, better

rights, and over all the chance to improve their lives.

Education in Mexico is very different from American education. In Mexico most kids

aren't able to go to school the way they would like to. Money is a big reason why. The family

might not have money to buy their child's uniform or school supplies. Some families might think

it is better to have their child work in order to feed the family. The educational benefits in

American is one reason to migrate to the U.S. First generation Americans establish the

foundation of their families life in the U.S. They attend school and get their high school diploma.

Second generation kids “meet or exceed the educational levels” their parents got [Association of

American Colleges and Universities]. According to the Migration Policy Institute immigrants

and second generation Americans make up 20 percent of US college students [Association of

American Colleges and Universities]. This shows that they want to get a better education and are

trying to get a better future than their parents.

Financial stability, in my opinion, has to be the biggest reason why immigrants migrate to

America. They need a source of income to take care of their family and America can provide

them with that. Due to the Americans not wanting these low paying jobs, immigrants looking for

work are given the job. Although it might not be the best paying job it is still better than what

they would be making if they were in Mexico. Due to a rise in unemployment in America,

Americans think job opportunities are being taken from them, but that is not the case [Jackson].
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Immigrants take jobs Americans won't do or jobs Americans think are low paying. Employers

are now starting to hire immigrant workers than American workers because they don't mind the

low wages. Immigrants work very hard without the hard work they won't be able to reach

provide for their family and reach their goal.

The living conditions in America are better due to the fact that America is a much more

advanced country. We don't have to worry about water or food shortages. Shelter is much more

improved as well as the locations. Houses are located in little towns that don't might not have

access to electricity at all times. They have to mash their clothes by hand because they don't have

money to buy a washing machine. 70% of immigrants parents say it is not likely that their

children would want to live in their parents country of origin.

Immigrant Myths

Most people think immigrants shouldn't be allowed into the U.S. because of the way they

are seen. They are seen as poor, dirty, dumb, and lazy. They aren't given the opportunities they

deserve because of those reasons.

Whenever people think of immigrants they think of them crossing the border into the

U.S. illegally. The fact that immigrants are here legally is ignored. There are many immigrants

who came to the U.S legally and who have had the opportunity to stay here legally. In 2014, 44

percent of immigrants have become U.S. citizens [Tolerance] that's almost half of the. Three

years later I’m sure there has been a rise in percent. Immigrants who are here legally because of

green cards, student visas and work visas make up 27 percent of immigrants [tolerance]. Some

immigrants end up staying even after their legal stay is over. That's why people think they come
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in illegally because they stay illegally. People need to understand that immigrants do come to the

U.S legally but just end up going back to their country because they already have a stable living

situation here they wouldn't want to lose.

Immigrants do not come to the U.S. because of welfare. Undocumented immigrants are

not able to receive food stamps, medicare or a social security. The only way a legal immigrant

can get access to these benefits is by been in the U.S. for five years or more [ADL]. That is why

they come to the U.S. not in hopes of being given all these benefits but to strengthen their

families financial stability and give their family an opportunity to do things they wouldn't be able

to do in their countries.

Every country has diseases, there is not one country that does not. Immigrants are being

blamed for diseases like HIV, tuberculosis, measles, and hepatitis C [ADL] but there is not

scientific evidence to prove it those accusation. In fact, Mexico and South American countries

have a higher vaccination rates than the U.S. [ADL]. If almost all people in Mexico and South

America are being vaccinated more than Americans, why are immigrants being blaming. Those

diseases were already there. They just hadn't been seen in so many people at once so we tend to

blame the people in poverty rather than think it could just be our own people.

An immigrant women having a baby in the U.S. is seen as a strategy move to stay in the

U.S. The fourteenth Amendment states that children born on U.S territory are U.S. citizens

[Tolerance]. Just because the child was born in the U.S. doesn't mean the parents get to stay in

the U.S. legally. 72,410 immigrant parents were deported in 2013 and their children can’t request

their legal stay until they are 21 years old [Tolerance]. Women don't come to the U.S. with the

intentions of having a “anchor babies”. They come to the U.S. with the intentions of escaping the

violence in their country, creating a better future of their children and for themselves.
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The facts about these four myths should be known by more people. People need to know

what they are thinking is not right. They need to know that immigrants aren't here illegally, they

don't bring diseases with them, they don't come to to have babies or to take advantage of our

countries benefits. They should expand their knowledge on immigrants.