A Personal Account of Immigration Experience in US

Nazario and Filomena arrived at the California border on May 16, a little after 6 p.m., as they entered into the hills near San Diego County. The peasant farmer and his 5-year-old daughter, Filomena, had left their village in the western highlands of Guatemala and traveled hundreds of miles across Mexico to flee a local gang trying to kill him. Filomena, her father, and others seeking asylum were walking the border road when they ran into a border patrol agent and were arrested. Nazario explained he was a resident of Guatemala and was coming to the U.S. to ask for asylum. Soon Nazario was told he would be sent to jail and later prosecuted for the misdemeanor offense of illegally entering the country. As Filomena, terrified, clung in his arms, two border patrol agents surrounded them and ripped her from his grasp leaving their voices raspy and eyes wide. (KQED) Filomena has never spent a second without her father but as her father sat in prison for much longer than his expected two days, she was afraid and alone. At a mere 5 years old she was in a place she had never been to with people who don’t speak her language. Meanwhile, Nazario sat in a cell in a prison in San Diego, constantly worrying. He had no idea where his daughter was, whether she was all right, and when he would see her face again. (KQED) America was created on the basis of immigration as people flocked in masses to North America to create a new life full of opportunities. Today, as a society our ideas on immigration have taken a turn for the worse, we forget immigrants come to the United States for the freedom and opportunities it offers, just as many of our relatives had many years prior. Practically all Americans today immigrated themselves or descended from settlers, regardless of whether they migrated from Britain and Germany in the frontier period, Ireland and Eastern Europe in the nineteenth and mid twentieth century, or Latin America and Asia in ongoing decades. They come to work and build a better life for themselves and their families. Our relatives are no different from the immigrants here today that have come here to seek asylum. Recently, there has been increased tension in our country because of President Trump’s plans to build a border wall at America’s southern border to halt immigrants from crossing into our country. While there is an obvious overflow of immigrants into our country and even more undocumented ones, immigrants aid our economy and help the labor market more than the average American realizes. As the flow of immigrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers remains steady, finding a balanced equilibrium for reform is necessary.

Firstly, immigrants boost America’s economic growth. With their much needed, specialized skills, immigrants raise the productivity of businesses and push Americans workers to be more productive as well. For many, the motivation behind immigrating to the United States is to provide a better life for their families. This automatically encourages them to work hard and become as successful and specialized in their field. Immigrants fortify the US economy by filling key jobs in significant areas such as beginning organizations, recording licenses, creating new products, and keeping America demographically younger. Additionally, immigrant workers allow for certain sectors of the economy to expand by attracting investment and creating more job opportunities for Americans. A recent study by the International Monetary Fund concluded, “Immigration significantly increases GDP per capita in advanced economies.” (Griswold) Despite the arguments made by many Americans that immigrants take away jobs from native-born citizens and depress wages, there is actually no evidence to support this claim. (Griswold) In reality, the number of jobs and the size of the workforce tend to grow together and there is no correlation between immigration and the general unemployment rate. Additionally, for more than 90 percent of American workers, immigration either raises wages or has no impact. Without a growing workforce, the US economy would lose its role in the global economy. As a nation, we would not want to lose our place at the top because of how often we reap the benefits of our power in instances such as global problems and having leverage above many other small nations. While we may take it for granted, it is important to realize immigrants aid in making us the successful superpower that it is. Furthermore, immigrants help America by consistently increasing the labor force and providing hard-working employees that strengthen the economy. Without immigrants and their children, the United States would soon begin to experience a demographic decline. The number of US-born workers with US-born parents is already declining and will shrink by eight million from 2015 to 2035. Immigrants also extend the sustainability of federal retirement programs by slowing the rise in the ratio of retirees to workers. (Griswold) Immigrants comprise about 14 percent of the US population or about 44 million people out of 329.45 million. (Radford) Together, immigrants and their US-born children make up about 27 percent of US inhabitants. (Felter) Out of this number, more Asian immigrants than Hispanic immigrants have arrived in the US in most years since 2010. Immigration from Latin America slowed following the Great Recession, particularly for Mexico, which has seen both decreasing flows into the United States and large flows back out of the United States into Mexico in recent years. (Radford) Because of this, Trump’s wall is not a viable solution to deter immigrants from arriving from overseas away from US borders. This shows that even if we adopt extremely harsh immigration policies such as this wall, immigrants seeking asylum and better lives for their families will still find ways to arrive. Not only will those who are not currently living in the United States find ways to immigrate but those who have already immigrated and whose visas have expired are also finding ways to stay in the United States. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, “A Center for Migration Studies report found that in 2010–2017 individuals who overstayed their visas far outnumbered those who arrived by crossing the border illegally.” (Felter) There is no way to completely change how individuals are arriving nor remove every immigrant from American soil so it is absolutely essential to create a positive relationship with these people who are aiding our workforce and economy.

Rather than wasting billions of dollars on building a border wall which will essentially make no difference in immigration, Americans should begin to accept immigrants place in our country and shift their focus on helping the hundreds of thousands of people awaiting hearings in immigration courts or lingering at the border. These people tend to be left waiting months to appear in court which often times strains their families of money. These are families who are struggling to survive in their home countries and are turning to the US for asylum but instead of being accepted, they are facing opposition and overwhelming problems in the government’s asylum and border processing system. Processing procedures such as asylum are often relied on by immigrants to enter the United States. (CATO) For families such as Nazario and Filomena, the policies currently in place are heartbreakingly life-changing. During the time Nazario was in custody, President Trump reversed his stance on separating families so Nazario was deported back to Guatemala City, alone. In the five weeks he spent in Government custody, he never saw his daughter once. (KQED) Along with Nazario, families are being forced into detention facilities where they experience inhumane conditions in states near the border.

Different states treat their immigrants in different ways. California for example, allows immigrants to apply for a driver's license and receive in-state tuition at universities, while states such as Arizona permit police to question people if they suspect someone to be an unauthorized immigrant. (Felter) It is important for Americans to create a uniform way to treat these people and stop this discrimination. In reality, out of the 44 million immigrants residing in the United States, three-quarters of them live legally. The number of illegal immigrants has stabilized at around 11 million. As a society we are assuming all immigrants are illegal immigrants which in reality is not the truth. It is extremely unfair to these hardworking people who have come to the United States to seek asylum and create better lives for themselves that entire states like Arizona are allowing for this to happen. They are just blatantly overlooking this xenophobia and it truly must stop. It is creating a toxic view against immigration. These views on immigrants and their effects on society are completely misinformed. The Council on Foreign Relations argues that “U.S. Immigration Policy contends that America has reaped tremendous benefits from opening its doors to immigrants, as well as to students, skilled employees and others who may only live in the country for shorter periods of time.” But it warns that ‘the continued inability of the United States to develop and enforce a workable system of immigration laws threatens to undermine these achievements.’” (Felter) Currently, in our country, the process for vetting refugees typically takes between 18 months and two years to complete. It is a difficult process that requires refugees to register with the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Refugees, which does an initial screening before referring qualifying immigrants to the U.S. Department of State. The State Department then conducts background and security checks, fingerprinting, biometric screening, and medical tests. It is only after all of these rigorous and time-consuming steps have been taken that a person can enter into the United States. It shouldn’t take months or even years for this process to be decided unless the United States wants an increasing amount of immigrants lingering. For long term growth and to further benefit from these individuals, it is necessary to reform our immigration policies to operate more efficiently. Additionally, it is essential to offer a fair, humane and orderly path to allow many illegal immigrants a more efficient way to become legal. (Felter)

Overall, as a country, we must realize individuals entering are not coming to attack or take our benefits but rather give their families the same opportunities we have every day that we often take advantage of. It is a waste of money and time to focus on forcing humans out of our country when they are actually aiding to grow our economy. The most cost-effective policy for reducing illegal immigration remains the expansion of opportunities for legal entry and work. Not to mention, immigrants help our economy, our labor force and generate innovation. It is truly essential that our country is made aware of all of the good that immigrants do for us and that we accept and befriend them because they truly are a vital part of our country’s success.

For people such as Filomena and Nazario, a change in policies is life-changing. Throughout the entirety of Nazario’s time in custody, he remained distraught. In spite of the danger and threat of being killed that prompted him to travel north, he decided to abandon his asylum claim. If he had continued his path claiming asylum, he could possibly have been locked up for several months. In his story, he said: “After being in jail for two weeks and having my daughter taken away from me, I decided that the United States is not a place that would protect me.” (KQED) Then on May 30, he pleaded guilty to illegal entry in criminal court in hopes to reunite with his daughter. With Nazario back home in Guatemala, he longed for his daughter, knowing it could take weeks to reunite the two.(KQED) Unfortunately, there are a million more stories identical to this one occurring every day. It is simply inhumane to treat people this way and let their lives fall apart due to our lack of adequate policies regarding immigration. For this reason, it is necessary to reform the US system and advocate for change.