Yearning to Breathe Free

By Ana Garcia / Fall 2019

Throughout history, the United States of America has been a beacon of hope and opportunity for people all over the world; hope for a better life and the opportunity to reach the American dream. This beacon was so strong that during 1892 and 1954, more that 12 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island eager to begin working towards their American dream (History.com). A part of this immigration into the United States is known to have been unlawful. Some of these unlawful acts may have been as small as changing a surname, falsely stating to be healthy, or faking a birth year, but they were unlawful nonetheless. This is important to note as it demonstrates that people desired to enter this country so strongly, that they were willing to risk the promise of freedom to achieve said freedom. The majority of immigrants were met with great hardship and merciless discrimination, which was further aggravated by the U.S government’s administrations at their respective times. Xenophobia that formed at the top then trickled into the masses, mainly through the media as well as in the form of policies and laws that hindered immigrants. This caused not only a distrust of immigrants, but also a fear and hatred of them and anyone who was considered different from those with White Anglo Saxon Protestant roots, also known as WASPs. Racism, segregation, and discrimination, is repeatedly seen throughout the history of the U.S. and although immigration to the United States has always been an existing issue, it has once again become an urgent and divisive matter. Even then, the United States was synonymous with freedom and opportunity and the essence that with a little bit of hard work, anyone could achieve the American dream. That still rings true today for many people, but entering the United States is not as easy as it was before, even less is achieving the American dream. While there has been a great increase in the number of immigrants living in the United States (approximately 9.5 million in 1890 compared to 44.5 million in 2018), the life of an immigrant is still comparatively more difficult than a native born (USA Facts). Still, many risk it all for the opportunity of bettering their lives. Unfortunately for many people, the opportunity to live in this country and strive for a better life and reaching the American dream is nothing more than that, a dream. Those that decide to take the risk of making their dream a reality sometimes do so through any means necessary, even if it means breaking the laws of their host country. While much has changed since the days of Ellis Island, one thing that remains very similar is the inhumane treatment of immigrants by American citizens, the president, and the media.

Although I do not and cannot claim to have the same experiences as most immigrants, especially those of color and particularly those from Latin America, I am certainly a close observer of the mistreatment they experience. I myself am an immigrant to the United States, but my experiences have not been the same. My parents migrated here from Mexico with my sister and I when I was very young in order to give our family a better life. They left their families and salaried white colored jobs with great fear, but even greater hope as they began their journey towards a better life. Just as many people before them, my parents desired so strongly to live in the U.S. that they entered illegally, knowing that they did not have the money to fund a legal entry for the four of us. While they wish they could have entered the country legally, my parents do not regret entering as they did only for the simple reason that their entering and staying here gave my sister and I a much better life than we would have had back home and while life as an immigrant, and especially an undocumented immigrant, has not been very easy, it has been my observation that throughout recent years, life for immigrants in the United States is becoming much more difficult. This can be easily observed anywhere there are people around. I cannot count the numbers of times I have been standing directly next to someone just casually mentioning their dislike of immigrants, a statement that is so calmly accepted by whomever they mentioned it to. While this is cause for great annoyance and frustration, sometimes the annoyance can be followed by amusement. I have found this to be true on occasions when I have been on a date or chatting with a new friend and they mention their dislike for Hispanic immigrants, especially undocumented ones, and I chime in with, “well you know, I am a Mexican immigrant.” The shock on their face is quickly replaced with embarrassment as they quickly respond with, “oh, wow you don’t look Mexican, but you’re okay and at least you did it right,” as if somehow their faked and unnecessary validation and approval erases their prior statement on immigrants from my mind and wipes them clean of the embarrassment. And yet, I keep them blissfully unaware of the fact that they are wrong; I did not “do it right” as an immigrant. I am still an undocumented immigrant, but my light complexion and proficiency in English, a language that was not my first, does not give this fact away. I cannot say the same for my mother, who’s dark complexion and struggle to speak the language, makes her a target for discrimination. According to a report by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, there were thirty-four anti-Latino hate crimes reported in America’s largest cities within the first two weeks after the 2016 election, which is a 176% increase since 2015 (The Center for Public Integrity). Since the 2016 election in which Donald Trump was elected president of the United States, xenophobia has been much more present in American society than in prior years. The word itself was one that I was completely unaware of until 2016. That is when I realized there were so many xenophobic people around me that had in some ways been latent before and had awoken all of a sudden with such a strong voice. Again, I have only observed their treatment of other immigrants, including my own family, but seeing how immigrants can be treated so inhumanely by those who so willingly accept me as their own, is enough to fill me with mixed emotions of sadness, frustration, anger, fear, and guilt. The inhumane treatment of immigrants by American citizens has somehow been made acceptable in recent years for one very specific reason.

Although the tension created by President Donald Trump and his administration, can be felt by the entire country, the groups experiencing the highest levels of fear are non-white, working class individuals, many of which are immigrants and especially those who do not have the proper documentation. Unfortunately for these groups, their race, class, and immigration status make them targets and subjects them to a different reality and different experiences from that of white American citizens and those with citizenship in general. Since the start of his campaign, president Donald Trump has targeted immigrants, mainly Hispanic ones, and given power to people who oppose their presence. One of the most memorable and now infamous quotes by Trump is, “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best… they’re sending people that have lots of problems and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists” (The Washington Post). Such inflammatory has given a voice to those against immigrants and has shaped anti-immigrant policies. This is all too clear from the images and stories at the border. Trump’s language about the border is the same; “Some people call it an invasion… it’s like an invasion. They have violently overrun the Mexican border” (TWP). Meanwhile at the border, children are being separated from their parents and kept in detention centers. The children in these detention centers are often kept in inhumane conditions – they do not have beds, sanitary supplies, or in some cases, they do not even have toilets, instead being forced to use a bucket kept in the same cage as the other children. These conditions have been reported over several news outlets and organizations, such as the Human Rights Watch, whose recent report corroborates the statement above. The Human Rights Watch states, “the US Border Patrol is holding many children, including some who are much too young to take care of themselves, in jail-like border facilities… without contact with family members, or regular access to showers, clean clothes, toothbrushes, or proper beds” (Human Rights Watch). The same report, released in July 2019, goes on to document stories of younger children being taken care of by unrelated older children, children receiving access to showers only once (for a three minute period) every few weeks, and sick children being quarantined and neglected. It is difficult to image any child being treated so inhumanely, but at the border, this is a sad reality. This harsh treatment and policies, some of which have been chanted by president Trump and his supporters for many years (“build the wall”), are meant to deter people from crossing the border unlawfully, but when desperate times call for desperate measures, what happens instead is further inhumane treatment and tragic losses. The stories at the border were covered by multiple news outlets and viewed all around the world until they were no longer newsworthy.

Throughout history, the media has always been the peoples’ connection to the world and in some form, to its government. Before the first televised presidential debates, Americans would listen to them over radio and could only imagine each candidate’s features. In some ways, it mystified candidates, but during the presidential debate of 1960 between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, the American people finally saw the candidates; it is said this was a big reason John F. Kennedy won the votes for presidency. Since then, the media has played a major role, not just as the connection between government and the American citizens, but also as an influencer. Current president, Donald Trump, brought up during the presidential debates of 2016 that much of the news being fed to Americans was “fake news,” which meant that media outlets were only reporting biased news with motives to influence the American public. While the accusation may have been brought up with ulterior motives, it did make the nation much more aware of biases and checking multiple sources for news. This reminds people that while the media serves as connection to the outside world, it can also influence us to believe certain thing by feeding us only the stories and perspectives it wants to. Similarly, when the stories lose novelty, the media will move on to more newsworthy items. News outlets will interview the children in the detention centers, take pity on them, and ask viewers to take pity on them too, then they move on to the next news subject, never doing much more than increasing their views for the day. Perhaps the inhume treatment of children at the border will be newsworthy once again and humanely covered by news outlets when more children have died at the hands of the government. Maybe then the media will once again share the stories of those at the border until the issue is resolved.

The words “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” by Emma Lazarus, engraved on the book held by Lady Liberty in New York, are meant to welcome immigrants into the country, but just how welcoming is everything else within the country? From the treatment of others, to the treatment of the government, and even the dismissive treatment of the media, it is enough to make any immigrant feel unwelcome and even despised. Still, immigrants continue working hard and striving towards their American dream. A study published by the BBC shows that immigrants pay “more in taxes than they receive in government services, when compared to native-born workers” and “immigrants are more likely to be employed and less likely to receive government benefits than those born in the US” (BBC). Similarly, “immigrant workers accounted for 39% increase in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics jobs” (BBC). The point is that the majority of immigrants come to the United States in pursuit of a better life and they work hard for it. I know first hand from watching my parents. My mother wakes up before three in the morning to go to her warehouse job where she spends all day on her feet and using her hands. She now has arthritis in her hands and has lost some mobility in her fingers, but those same hands still make lunch and dinner for her loved They have also built a beautiful and cozy home that people are amazed is owned by non-Americans. This is still surprising to me as well because my parents did not go to college and do not speak the native language and do not have the proper paperwork, but through their hard work and determination, they have achieved their American dream. Other immigrants and the children in the detention centers at the border simply want the same, but how can it be achieved while they are subjected to the inhumane treatment of American citizens, the president, and the media.

Works Cited

“Most Immigrants Arriving at Ellis Island in 1907 Were Processed in a Few Hours.” Kennedy. History.com.

“Immigrant Population.” USA Facts.

 “Rising Hate Drives Latinos and Immigrants Into Silence.” The Center for Public Integrity. 2018.

 “Trump's most insulting - and violent - language is often reserved for immigrants.” Scott. 2019.

“Six charts on the immigrants who call the US home.” McIntosh, Kriston; Nunn, Ryan; Shambaugh, Jay. 2018. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-46034400