No one asks to be born black, white or brown no one asks to be born to a rich family or a lowly crack addict and especially no one asks to be born on the right side of the American Mexican border. For those who are born in Honduras, Guatemala El Salvador, or Mexico their problems are far great then ours as Americans. They struggle every day to make a living, feed their families, and deal with instability in their economies and governments. It’s no surprise that many of them decide to make the long and dangerous trip to the American border. When they get here some try to make a better life for themselves they take jobs that most Americans would never dream of and they save their pennies so that one day they might be able to send for their children, so that their children can have more then what they themselves have achieved. When and if they get their children here they start school, make friends and get accustomed to an American way of living. Some become star athletes, honor students, homecoming queens and leaders amongst their peers unfortunately for these exceptional students the farthest their education can go is high school, because they are apart of the 65,000 high school seniors who are undocumented immigrants. They have lived here most of their lives and consider themselves Americans most cannot even remember life before they came here, but because of their location of birth an affordable education ends when they get their diploma.
Giving the Dream
A look at the struggle for immigrant minors to recieve an affordable college education
Published: Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Updated: Wednesday, May 5, 2010
The Dream Act or The development, relief and education of Alien minors act is a piece of legislation that will allow undocumented students to receive temporary residency so that they can receive an affordable education. Now this is not for every immigrant that crosses our borders, but for those students who have come here before the age of 15 and have received either a high school diploma or GED. For most of these students they are the first in their family to finish high school and all they want now is to be the first to finish college.
Karina Escobar is one such student; she emigrated here from Honduras on the eve of her 5th birthday and has since been the first in her family to finish high school. Her mother received a college education in their home country and graduated with a degree in secretarial studies, but when she came here she could only get a job working in a lunch truck. Her father never finished school, but became a success in his country of Mexico and then he came to the United States were he took a job as a truck driver. Her parents made sacrifices and took jobs that would pay the bills and allow them to bring their children to America. When Karina and her brother arrived they almost immediately started school and learned the language.
When Karina was in the 6th grade a bill was passed that allowed immigrants who came from Central America the chance to receive a working visa, they’re countries had been ravaged by a slew of deadly hurricanes and there wasn’t much for them to return to. So Karina’s family applied and received their visas. For most immigrants that would be a dream, because it means that they no longer have to live in the fear of being deported. However this system is still greatly flawed. When Karina and her family first applied they had to pay 100 dollars each for a yearlong visa that price has grown every year to were Karina and her family paid 580 dollars this year and are expected to have to pay 600 next year. That is a great amount of money for something that needs to be renewed every year, but what other choice do they have. “You can’t just not go and renew it because they know you, they have all your information and will come after you for deportation if it’s not renewed” Karina says “Honduras is my home country, but the fear of going back is too great the government was just over thrown and my cousin was kid napped and held for ransom the last time she and my aunt went back to visit. They didn’t even make it out of the airport.” So every year Karina’s family pays because they have no other choice. Currently there is no other way for a minor to receive residency on their own they have to get it through their parents. Karina’s father had a chance to receive residency, but the stress of the whole procedure was too much for him. “They put him in a room and started to ask him all these questions he got so nervous he didn’t want to get us in any trouble they made him feel like a criminal and he didn’t pass their test, so we have to wait till the next time it will be available.” With all the hoops that need to be jumped through who knows when that will be. Karina is like many students in not only in this country, but this state who want nothing more then what their parents wanted the American Dream a better life filled with opportunities and endless possibilities. The Dream Act has the possibility to be Karina’s greatest opportunity it will grant her residency so that she can learn not only in the class room, but in the world that surrounds her.
Whatever their view is on immigration people should know that these children didn’t choose to come to this country illegally, so why if they want nothing, but to better themselves and the country they have grown to call home shouldn’t they be able to? These aren’t students who want to get an education then run off to where they came from they want to stay here and be able to call themselves without a shadow of a doubt a proud American.
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