Features

America: The Land of the Free and Home of Xenophobia

Breanna Bullock, Staff Writer
April 5, 2018

When most people think of the United States of America, they think of a huge country with a vast and diverse culture. But for others, America welcomes only those with a certain type of citizenry: legal immigrants. For people looking for a better life and better opportunities, America is the place that can make their dreams come true, but the road to becoming a U.S. citizen takes a long time. First, you have to live in the U.S. to become a green card holder. Then, you have to take your citizen test and interview. After being a permanent resident, you can apply for the test after 5 years. It is 3 years if you’re married to a U.S. citizen.

There is a large caravan of over 1,500 Central American migrants heading for the U.S.A. To make their way into the United States of America. They’re a part of Pueblos Sin Fronteras “People Without Borders.” The organization helps immigrants by providing aid to them. As the migrants reach the checkpoints, the organization is there to assure the groups are traveling as safely as possible. The people of the towns that they stop in are also voluntarily helping the group as well. The migrants will be crossing through Mexico. Most of the migrants hail from Honduras and Guatemala. Where they’ve faced political hardships and gang related violence. They also face corrupt police officers and thieves on their long journey. Many of them have faced deaths due to dangerous routes. They’ve been marching in this large group since March 25th.

The march has sparked an intense debate. The migrants are hoping to gain political asylum. Most of the migrants plan to turn themselves in when they reach America and apply for asylum while others are unsure of their destiny. President Trump has threatened to cut Honduras foreign aid over the immigrant caravan. Trump responded on Twitter by saying “Honduras, Mexico and many other countries that the U.S. is very generous to, sends many of their people to our country through our WEAK IMMIGRATION POLICIES. Caravans are heading here. Must pass tough laws and build the WALL. Democrats allow open borders, drugs and crime!” Mexico has been accused by Trump of allowing the flow of drugs and illegal immigrants into the country because they haven’t stopped the caravan of illegal immigrants traveling which Mexico has denied. In order to combat this caravan of immigrants, Trump has ordered the National Guard to help border patrol agents assist the U.S.-Mexico border.

A lot of immigration xenophobia stems from the media because of the stereotypes portrayed. Such as ALL immigrants are illegal, they don’t speak English, they’re uneducated, they’re criminals, they don’t have jobs, and they’re recipients of welfare. The stereotypes against Hispanics are because people don’t believe that they will contribute to society and will be an encumbrance instead. Immigration isn’t as bad as it seems to be. Some of America’s best contributions came from immigrants themselves such as scientist Albert Einstein and Google co-founder Sergey Brin. Until we break the stereotypes and misunderstanding of immigrants, people will continue to have their own perception of immigration by creating their own version of events.