To My Illegal Parents,
"Thank you, mom and dad, for risking your life while trying to cross the border." This is the thought that every descendent of an immigrant has at one point in their life. Trying to justify what your parents did to others is a whole different ordeal within itself. "Go back to Mexico, you wetback" is a phrase that I've heard throughout my life. That's more than anyone should hear, or my other favorite one "Speak in English, you're in America." Technically, if I was in Mexico I'd still be in part of America (Latin America). It never ceases to amaze me how the average U.S. person discriminates against another American because they speak a different language, or because their skin pigmentation is one tone darker, or because they believe in something different. We become so self-centered that we dislike anything that does not look like us.
The definition of an American? Can someone tell me? I thought it was life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Pursuing a better future for yourself and your family, to strive to leave your kids better off than you were, to make enough money so you don't have to struggle, to do the impossible because it's the land of opportunity. Could we not agree that's what the U.S. is? That's what the people look at the U.S. and think. OPPORTUNITY. Picture this: you're living in a small village near the mountains, then it starts getting violent, people are getting murdered, decapitated, kidnapped and raped. Wouldn't you want to leave? I know I would. Yeah, I know the counterarguments, I've heard them for years. "Yeah, But they got here illegally." "Make them go back and apply for a visa." "Why let them stay? They don't pay taxes!" All valid arguments, to a certain extent.
I read a very inspiring quote from Malcolm X, "By all means necessary." This is what I envisioned my parents were thinking; they'll move heaven and earth for my siblings and I, to leave us better off than they were. Don't you think your parents would do the same for you? I'm sure they would. Mexico is currently in turmoil. Drug cartels are running most states and interstate commerce is nearly non-existent for smaller businesses. A lot of people die from decapitation, or they're never found due to kidnappings. Sure, send them back. If anything happens to them we'll write a Facebook post about it to show that we are with them, but only on the surface. Who cares about them, they're not Americans, right?
They don't pay taxes is my favorite. In fact, they do. Every time they buy Coronas and tacos (burritos are not part of Mexico, sorry) they pay sales taxes. So, there's that. "No, but they don't pay actual taxes though," some might still argue. Actually, my dad has an IRS number that he uses in order to file taxes, which he uses every year, as many others do too. Sometimes paying back, sometimes not. Not because he doesn't want to, but because the IRS says so.
So you see, the problem with them is not that they are breaking the laws, or taking our jobs. It's that we are not aware of what they are going through, or have gone through, but yeah, let's send all of them back so we can get our jobs back. In fact, deport them all right now. Tomorrow everyone who is unemployed will be employed. Picking oranges in Florida, peaches and grapes in California. Decent jobs, right? High pay, great benefits, awesome! Unemployment will decrease, but once U.S. citizens don't want to work there anymore they'll quit, why? Because they can. That is the difference, they can leave and go elsewhere, but the "illegal immigrant" can't. They're either working to support their family or to send money back home. My grandfather picked fruit from California to Illinois, all the way to Florida for years. Could you see yourself doing that? Probably not. I know I can't.
So thanks, mom; thanks, dad, grandma, and grandpa, for defying the odds. If it wasn't for you I would not have the opportunity to be a first-generation, 22-year-old, private four-year university graduate. Without your sweat blood and tears, I would not be here.
Next time you eat, think about who picked the vegetables or fruits you’re about to enjoy. When you’re about to say something bad about “illegals,” think about it. This article was written to raise awareness on the negative issues that were said during this year’s presidential campaigns.
