We hear it all the time, everywhere: “Go back to where you came from”, “go home, you don’t belong here,”or “they come and take all of our jobs.” The anti-immigrant sentiment is fierce in this country, with most comments and attitudes based on lies, twisted facts and legacies of racism.
However, the undocumented youth movement has put a new face to the immigration “problem,” a face I’m glad to say is making many very uncomfortable. Rallies, marches, hunger strikes and sit-ins all over the country are challenging the popular perception of who is “illegal” in this country.
To quote a very conservative member of my family, “Illegal immigration is such a problem. These people come here, don’t learn English, use all of our welfare resources meant for citizens because they don’t want to work, and place such a strain on this economy.” I love you, but you are so confused, uninformed and brainwashed by conservative media. Sadly, this person in my family represents too large a portion of our country.
Well, guess what? Not only did my undocumented friends retain their native language, learn English on top of that and excel in high school thereafter, but they also got into one of the best universities in the country.
Oh, and all those resources they use? Yeah, they don’t use any. In fact, they work more hours than you under-the-table and often below minimum wage. Why? Because they value their education, love their country, and can’t wait for the chance to give back to their communities. It is about time our country valued them.
Right now, undocumented youth are fighting more than ever for their futures and their lives. And it is time for you and I to stand beside them in their struggle for justice.
If a group of undocumented students and their allies can stage a hunger strike outside Senator Schumer’s office in New York, surely you and I can take a few minutes everyday or even every other day to call in to Senator Diane Feinstein’s office encouraging her to champion the DREAM Act, an act providing undocumented youth with a six year long path to citizenship, as a stand-alone bill.
If thousands of undocumented youth and their families can march through Phoenix, Arizona, the center of anti-immigrant sentiment right now, surely you and I can correct a friend using the term “illegal” and encourage the term “undocumented” or attend a rally, meeting or non-violent protest throughout the summer to show my support and solidarity with these students, my peers.
In short, it is time to take action.
These actions reflect the urgency of the DREAM Act and I am proud to be a part of the escalation currently taking place for its immediate passage. The DREAM Act would not only give thousands of undocumented students the opportunity they deserve to accomplish all they desire, but it would also be a very critical and necessary step toward the social justice and equality our country desperately needs.
Since the beginning, the U.S. has prided itself in being a land of immigrants, a land where opportunity is around every corner, a chance at a better life. Why have we strayed so far from that? What happened to rewarding those who did everything right and worked hard?
Now is the time. Our time. DREAM’s time. What are you doing to make history?
Alison Chandler is a sophomore political science major and a guest contributor from the University of California, Los Angeles.
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