Dear America, Treat Your Immigrants Right
By Lavanya Durai
“it's really astonishing how a country founded by immigrants, immigrant has somehow become a bad word.”
People all over the world are fleeing persecution, escaping dangerous conditions, or looking for opportunities for a brighter future but are daunted by country quotas, legal restrictions, and bureaucracy. What happened to empathy and humanity in our global community? The United States, specifically, has failed its migrants and incoming refugees despite being defined by immigrants and praising itself as a welcoming nation capable of giving everyone ‘the American Dream.’ Due to an outdated and broken immigration system that politicians have no goal to fix long-term, our society isn’t equipped to deal with challenges that immigrants face every day.
To become a citizen in the United States, a person must have been a permanent resident (had their green card) for at least five years, sometimes rescind their home country’s citizenship, and pass a civics test and interview. For many people, the wait time to get a green card has taken decades. Just applying to wait for a green card can take several years, mountains of paperwork, thousands of dollars in legal fees, and even then, nothing is guaranteed. During this time, immigrants are still expected to pay taxes, find work while proving to the government that they are not taking away a job from already existing citizens, and assimilate to American culture. This is especially challenging for refugees, who were forced to flee their home countries and sometimes leave behind their homes, desires, and loved ones.
Our society isn’t equipped to deal with challenges people face due to an outdated and broken immigration system that politicians have no aim to collectively and truly repair. For example, I am a legal immigrant from India that moved to the United States with my parents when I was 7 years old. I have been waiting for a green card for more than 10 years, and my heart drops everytime I check the monthly visa bulletin updates to see that my family and I have only moved up one day or not moved at all. Without a green card, I cannot receive federal aid, am limited to applying from certain jobs and opportunities, and my professional prospects are uncertain. When applying to college, I spent months speaking with admissions officers and deans to personally explain my situation since there was no box on the application for me to check off. I can’t just check off a box on a list because my situation isn’t supposed to exist, yet it does under our current immigration system. These are some of my difficulties despite being incredibly privileged with a roof over my head, a steady job, and the ability to choose where I want to live. For those who may not be able to research or find viable ways to work the system and survive in an environment that has forgotten about immigrants, the US immigration system is a constant source of confusion, heartbreak, and uncertainty.
This has all been exacerbated by recent political leadership, whose many decisions have set back the immigration system and USCIS (United States Customs and Immigration Services) significantly. Within four years, the Trump administration has instituted a travel ban that targets Muslim-dominant countries, threatened the ability of Dreamers (DACA recipients: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) to stay in the country, almost made international students leave the country with little to no notice for prioritizing their safety, painted a group of refugees forced to flee their homes as violent criminals and denied them asylum status, separated innocent families at the border, violently deported thousands of people, and turned his supporters against refugees and immigrants. These actions, among many others, have made the United States a hostile environment for immigrants and people of color. Although Trump was voted out of office with a slim margin, the previously fractured immigration system has been further broken and may be difficult for anyone to repair in the near future. Even under the current administration, Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) is still operational and cruelly disrupting families, lives, and destroying many innocent peoples’ futures.
Immigrants, especially refugees, are the most brave and hardworking people. They work the jobs that are neglected, face racist and xenophobic comments on a daily basis from fellow peers despite being the backbone of this country. We came to the United States with ourselves and our cultures, leaving behind our home countries, because it seemed like the best option and because we envisioned ourselves ‘the American Dream.’ It’s been 13 years since I moved to this country, and I’ve grown old enough to be able to implore my representatives to fix the system, give back to my community, and speak up for those who cannot. As said by some famous musician immigrants, “it's really astonishing how a country founded by immigrants, immigrant has somehow become a bad word.” As the world is changing rapidly, the mentality towards people that are different and the immigration system in the United States must catch up. Dear America, treat your immigrants with the respect, kindness, and gratitude they deserve.