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Karina Hernandez-Reyes

Professor Valerie Kelco

English 101 - 10

October, 25, 2019

The Movement

#IStandWithImmigrants is a hashtag that was celebrated on October 24th in

representation of college and university day of action. This is a hashtag that has been used

several times over the past 5 years. The month of June is the month when immigrant heritage

month is celebrated. There are many different components to this movement: which are

Immigrants that are undocumented, also including DACA and TPS recipients who are

documented recipients. This movement is not like any other, this movement fights for people

who can’t speak up and who are afraid because they are threatened by the government. In this

article we will talk about all topics around immigration and the people who are affected directly

and indirectly.

We are going to start with why this movement is important and how it affects the whole

country. The importance of this movement is to let people know that there are immigrants in our

country and that there are people who will stand up for them. Another reason why this movement

is important is because we have to celebrate that there are people from other countries in our

country and that they are good people and also letting people know that we have to celebrate

immigrants because everyone in the United States is an immigrant except for Native Americans.

If we didn’t have immigrants then we wouldn’t have the country that we have now. Everyone

contributes to the growth of this country even immigrants. Everyone has a job, even if some
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people say that immigrants take their jobs. The jobs that the immigrants are taking are the jobs

that no one wants, for example immigrants work in the fields and they work in farms the mostly

work outside. Immigrants that make businesses also create jobs that might be needed in the

community. They create more opportunities for people that live in their neighborhoods as well.

Being an immigrant is not bad, it is also not how the media explains it. Immigrants are

good people trying to seek out a good future. Yes, maybe there are some bad people that come

but there are also a lot of bad people who already live here. Being an immigrant is not easy

either. While they are trying to seek out a better future, they also have to be kept in the shadows

of everyone else, they have to live in fear of being separated from their families. They risk being

treated fairly and their health just to give their families a better future. Immigrants also don’t

have any benefits from the government. They work as hard as everyone else and they still don’t

get paid an amount that they can live off. Immigrants that work for big companies are at risk of

being caught by ICE, mostly because the companies know who the immigrants are and they can

turn them in at any moment.

People who have DACA are looking for a good opportunity to have a better future and to

be able to go to college and have a good paying job. DACA recipients have experience tough

situations. They have lived in the United States most of their lives and some of them don’t know

much about their culture. They feel American and they feel torn by not knowing where they

stand, they know they are originally from a different country but since most of their lives was

created in the United States they feel like their home is not the same place where they were born.

DACA recipients want to be able to contribute to their communities and give back to the places

that they grew up in. They want to be able to make their parents proud and say “Mom and Dad, I
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did it! Your hard work has paid off.”. Since the time that DACA was stopped, most DACA

recipients felt fear, they became fearful that they might lose their studies and they became fearful

that they won’t be able to work. Their lives were in jeopardy and they didn’t know what will

happen next. In a tweet from a student at the University of Pennsylvania said, “ As I am halfway

through my last year at my university, knowing that the fate of DACA rests on the decision of a

few individuals brings me anxiety. My future is placed on pause as we nervously await this

hearing.”, this tweet explains everything in itself. Currently there is a court case that is ongoing,

there are people who are waiting on the supreme court to make a decision on whether to keep or

take away DACA. Not knowing what will happen next in your life is nerve wracking. Also TPS

recipients were in the same situation some time ago. Some still fear that it will be taken away

soon.

These different types of situations do not only affect immigrants, it also affects non

immigrants. For example, a family who had 2 parents that are immigrants and they have 3

children who are citizens, they have a tough situation because ICE ( U.S. Immigration and

Customs Enforcement) could deport them and then the children would stay in the U.S. because

their parents have to go through a process before getting deported to their original place of birth.

This process affects the mental and emotional state of the children and their parents. It also

affects the place where the parents were working at and the schools that the children were

attending. It affects family members and friends that are left behind in the U.S. and their

communities. Knowing that a person who you care for is being taken far away and not being

treated right just because they wanted a better future is heartbreaking.

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On the contrary, our current president is against immigrants. For example he tweeted this

about our new congress women, “​So interesting to see “Progressive” Democrat Congresswomen,

who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the

worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning government

at all), now loudly......”, this quote was not a good way of expressing himself especially about the

newest members of congress. This is one of the reasons why some Americans and

Non-Americans feel like he doesn’t like immigrants at all even if they are not a threat to the

country. Treating the newest congress member like that is disrespectful and it shows how much

he doesn’t really care about them and also how much he is bothered that they were elected. He

usually refers to immigrants as people who are trying to take away opportunities for people who

live in this country legally.

His supporters also think the same way, they think that immigrants are taking away jobs

and that they are taking money from the government. Many Americans that do not like

immigrants think that they are getting healthcare and that they are getting food stamps and many

other benefits from the government. They also think that all immigrants are criminals and that

they should go back to their countries. Americans that don’t like immigrants say that immigrants

should go back to their countries, they are referring to all people that are immigrants or are

related to immigrants. What they do not know is that some of the immigrants are here legally and

they are being given asylum. Another thing that they do not know is that most of the people that

they think are immigrants are actually citizens and they just look like their ancestors. In my

experience many people who are trump supporters have not been very nice. They talk bad about
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a person just because they are speaking another language or they get offended by it. They think

that since someone looks like a foreigner that they must be from a different country.

Feeling out of place in a country that someone has lived their for so long and being

treated like someone who doesn’t belong makes a person feel like they are an outcast. Being a

child and feeling like an outcast is the worst feeling because all they want to do is to be able to fit

in and have fun and be a kid, but they are limited because they are being judged by adults and

they don’t know why. Some parents tell their kids not to play with certain types of kids, just

because of how the other kids look and because they are speaking in another language. Growing

up in that type of situation can be difficult because the children either feel like they have to lower

their standards and be someone they aren’t or they have to be a successful person to be able to be

accepted by society.

In conclusion there are many people who are affected by what is going on in America and

the #IStandWithImmigrants will never stop fighting for immigrants rights. Being an immigrant is

a struggle for many but overcoming and prospering keeps people going. There will always be

people who do not like a certain type of people. But the only way around it is showing them that

immigrants will not give up no matter how hard people try to stop them from being treated fairly

and having a better future.

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Works Cited

“French Montana Joins the I Stand With Immigrants Initiative.” ​I Am an Immigrant​,

https://www.iamanimmigrant.com/.

“Trump Ended DACA. This Woman Is Suing to Keep the Program Alive.” ​Public Radio

International​, https://www.pri.org/stories/2019-10-23/trump-ended-daca-woman-suing-

keep-program-alive.

@IAmAnImmigrant. “As I am halfway through my last year at my university, knowing that the

fate of DACA rests on the decision of a few individuals brings me anxiety. My future is

placed on pause as we nervously await this hearing.” ​Twitter, 2​ 2 Oct. 2019, 3:52 p.m.,

https://twitter.com/IAmAnImmigrant/status/1186777319244849152

@realDonaldTrump. “​So interesting to see “Progressive” Democrat Congresswomen, who

originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe,

the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning

government at all), now loudly......” ​Twitter,​ 14 July 2019, 5:27 a.m.,

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1150381394234941448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etf

w%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1150408691713265665&ref_url=https%

3A%2F%2Fwww.glamour.com%2Fstory%2Fdonald-trump-congresswomen-tweets