Image via WikipediaOne day a friend of mine, who was doing a project for school,  asked me about my thoughts on  immigration.

One of the things that I feel very strongly about is the Dream Act. I would go even further than the current Dream Act. If anyone came to this country younger than 18 years old and is a high school graduate, I would give them a path to citizenship. I don't believe in fines as many of these people are dirt poor, yet they are contributing members of society, and certainly they are not responsible for what their parents did. Many grew up thinking the U.S. was their country. They pledged allegiance to the flag, sang the Star Spangled banner, studied American history and many did not know they were not citizens until they tried to function in the adult world. I don't even like the no criminal record requirement, because many of these people are accused unjustly, taken advantage of because they do not have the money to prove themselves innocent. Some of these children turned adults get involved in drugs and gangs because they feel so hopeless about supporting themselves. This does society no good.

Also, if their children are U.S. citizens, I do not believe they should be forced to be raised in another country because their parents are not. I think parents should be given permission to live in this country if their children are U.S. citizens, as long as they have not abused children. That is the only crime, if it is proven, that I would not tolerate.

Some people think immigrants come just to make their children citizens. I have never come across such a person. They come because they feel desperate in their own countries and are starving. They come here to survive and many times with the intention of returning to their homeland. The problem is when the children are born here, the children do not want to leave.

These are the two incidences that I feel very strongly about because the family is the foundation of society and to tear families apart does not help the country.

If any of the immigrants are career criminals, I would not let them stay in the country.

Immigrant Hispanics have the same problems everybody else does plus some problems that are unique to them because they do not have legal status, and because they are living far away from their support systems.

 Many times young males, who were born elsewhere, but were raised in the United States, will turn to drugs and gangs because they see no hope for the future. Single mothers who came over as minors have to break the law to survive; i.e. driving without a license, insurance fraud because they are seriously ill and cannot get insurance, lying to get housing, using false social security cards, etc. Some people have been deported simply because they were Hispanics and were not carrying their legal documents on them leaving women and children to fend for themselves when they could barely speak the language. These women and children are usually suffering from depression or possibly post-trauma if they were present when ICE took their father away. (ICE has a tendency not to be gentle.)  Can you imagine seeing your father who you love and respect, being abused by ICE.


My friend asked me if I had the resources how could my non-profit make the necessary changes to help these people. I find that counseling itself helps these people cope with their many problems. They really can feel empowered especially when they learn there are resources for them and that they have the power within themselves to change things, i.e., a young teenager was going to join a gang because of discrimination and felt he needed the protection of the gang. He learned there were ways that he could volunteer and help to change things through constructive activities; for example, marches, writing to congressmen, letter-writing campaigns. He also became aware of organizations that already exist that he could join and add his clout to.

These are just some rambling thoughts on this Memorial Day to honor our soldiers who have given the ultimate sacrifice.  I am sure we are all aware that we are a nation of immigrants.  Hopefully, the Dream Act will be passed soon to help those adults who were brought here as minors.