Immigration is a topic that has not gone away nor has anybody come to terms with what will be done to deal with the issue. Will 800,000 immigrant children be rid of their legal status? Will the president actually commit the inhumane act of splitting families? What will happen to those who are deported? All these questions have been left unanswered in the immigration discussion and quite frankly, it is unfair. It is unfair that people do not know what will be done to them, their whole lives at stake and in the hands of men and women who despise them.

Fear. There are immigrants who walk around in fear of being deported and taken out of a country that they respect. There are children who live in fear of not being able to see their parents. There are aunts, uncles, and cousins who fear not being able to see each other anymore. The talk of mass deportation has not led to safety, in fact it has led to undocumented people getting hurt. A walk in downtown Los Angeles is no longer that, but it is getting thrown into an ICE car without notice. Living in their own homes is no longer safe, as officials will bang on their doors and take them from their families. It has led to many people believing that because their president calls illegal immigrants animals that they are right to treat them as such.  

Now, I understand wanting safety and living in a country where bad things don’t happen, but that won’t be solved by mass deportation. Sending those who not only help the economy back to a country they needed to escape will not make this country safer. It will divide it. This issue of immigration runs deeper than safety, it is blatant racism and profiling of colored people. There is especially bad stigma surrounding the Latino community, I will admit that, but because one commits a crime does not mean that we all are criminals. We have instilled into our children that the Hispanic community is one that should be avoided because they are “dangerous”. We are in gangs, we sell drugs, and we come to the United states to take and not give. We come to the United States to live freely not take your jobs or corrupt your communities.

Building a wall will not keep these people out of the country. The simple truth is that when someone is in danger, they will do anything to escape that danger. No one simply decides one day that they are going to leave the only country they know to migrate to one where they will be harrassed. No one leaves family behind to go to another country to commit crimes. They are coming here for a reason, and that reason is constantly ignored. It needs to be noticed that these people, are people, not here to do bad but to help their families succeed.

Take that into consideration when you want to split families apart.

America’s immigration policies have allowed around 1 million documented immigrants into the country in the year of 2016. Though with these 1 million documented immigrants entering the country, additionally 700,000 illegal immigrants entered and stayed within our beautiful country without any consequences. We must find a way to balance our borders between allowing legal immigrants to enter our country, and finding a way to stop illegal immigrants from entering.  

Immigration may be the only way for families to leave dangerous situations, such as gang violence, natural disasters, and simply a way to start a new life. These families that want to start a new life can do so properly, you can file documentation and aid to come into the U.S. Though when people try to come into the country illegally it causes problems not only for the country that they are entering, such as needed spending on border enforcement, but it can also cause problems for the people who are trying to start their new life. If they are caught trying to cross into the U.S. or caught within the country, they can be deported and sent away from their families that they are trying to start a better life for

The current immigration laws allow people who don’t live in America to permanently and legally reside inside of the country. Though when immigrants illegally enter the country it causes the government to spend money on resources to either document these citizens or sadly deport them. In the year of 2017 ICE made 226,119 removals of illegal immigrants from the U.S. alone. When we allow these people to not only cross over into our country but to live here without any documentation of them being residents of the country it can encourage other immigrants to skip the legal process of becoming a U.S. resident. They do not have work visas, birth certificates, or any real documentation to allow them to obtain jobs in the U.S.  Employers also have a hard time hiring these men and women because they are simply a risk at work, the human resource worker at the company must sign off saying that they are legal and have the proper documentation to live and work in the country. If immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) were to find out that they were illegal they would have to not only deport the illegal worker, but they would also have to arrest the human resource worker that lied and signed the form saying that they were legal.

The simple matter of the fact is that the men and women of our country need to find a way for these Illegal immigrants to either find proper documentation to reside here, or sadly deport them until they can receive their visas into our country. We simply cannot let them illegally cross over into America and live here without any consequence. The current government is promoting this behavior by providing them free food, welfare,  and community housing. We need to help secure our borders and encourage proper and legal ways to enter and live freely within our beautiful country.

Immigration is not a rare discussion topic and by having conversations about this issue, people can learn more about it. By talking to others who have first-hand experience with immigration and have had the impact of immigration on their lives, there is another perspective provided on the matter. Carlsbad High School junior and first generation American, Anayeli Hernandez, shares her story and opinions about immigration and deportation within the United States.

“For me (being a daughter of an immigrant) means that you have to work 10 times as hard to get half the recognition for anything,” Hernandez said. “Hard work is the only thing that will lead to success in my family.”

It is safe to say, the majority of the Carlsbad High School students have not experienced what Hernandez and her family have. As a first generation American, Hernandez has been able to learn many lessons that she will carry with her for the rest of her life.

“Nothing that I’ve had in life has been easy,’ Hernandez said. “My parents have had to work so much harder for it. I think that we are given the same opportunities if you work hard enough for them. They are still there if you stop making excuses for yourself and you can become as successful as anybody else. (People should know that) just because my parents are immigrants, doesn’t mean that I can’t do anything that anybody else doesn’t do and I’m not going to let that hold me back. The only reason I am doing all of this is for my parents. To give back for all the sacrifices they’ve made for me. The biggest thing (my parents have taught me) is to never give up. If they can make it here, so can I.”

Although Hernandez may have experienced challenges, but she has refused to let them stop her from becoming a successful student. Hernandez has been able to use her hard working attitude to strive towards greatness.

“The whole not having somebody who has experience in college or high school, my parents both had a third grade level education, is difficult,” Hernandez said. “You are not able to go to your parents and ask them for advice or help on how to get into college. Thankfully I have a brother who is first generation to go to college so I have some idea about what I’m getting into. Also, there is the finance thing. Because my parents are not born here, they have less opportunity for high paying jobs so that plays a part into what college I can go to and I definitely have to work really really hard to get scholarships to get into the college I want to go to and be successful.”

However, due to recent discussions in the media about the topics of immigration, Hernandez expresses concern towards those who do not fully understand the effects of deportation on immigrants.

“I think what a lot of people don’t understand is that if you see the process of deportation, I don’t think you would agree with it because it’s not ok for somebody to ever be ripped from their family just because they don’t have legal status here,” Hernandez said. “I think that some people are just so uneducated on the topic but they still feel as if they have the right to talk about it. It’s really annoying because if you’ve never been in a situations where you have had to fear that when you come home, your parents are not going to be there, then I think you shouldn’t interject an opinion.”

Native Carlsbad students may not recognize how spirited or team-like our school actually is, however, when viewing our school from a whole new perspective, we may appreciate our team environments even more. Coming from Bologna, Italy about a year ago with a Visa E-2, athletes Celeste and William Guidotti have experienced sports in two completely different areas.

Junior Celeste Guidotti participated in volleyball, swimming and track and field in Bologna. However, sports in Carlsbad are conducted differently, in that they are school affiliated activities rather than independent organizations. This difference has offered a whole new experience of sports for Celeste. This change has been especially prominent in track and field. 

“It was just a small group [of] 15 and we didn’t have a lot of competitions [and] invitationals,” Celeste said. “I love it here because you’re in a group. In track and field you have your own event, but in the end, you’re all together; you represent Carlsbad High.”

People must accept immigration, for we all share the same earth and must remain united as people rather than discriminate one and other.