Like many other children in this country, both of my parents are immigrants. My father is Salvadoran and my mother is Romanian and both of them have immigrated due to the political, social, and economic issues. My mother has been a resident basically ever since she arrived in the United States in the early 2000s and received her citizenship in 2015. My father on the other hand, has been undocumented for most of my life and I have always feared that he would be deported. That was until he was ordered to go back to El Salvador to complete the process for his Green Card in 2016, after years of waiting to be approved.
https://www.sjpl.org/citizenship
The point of me sharing this is that I have seen my parents suffer discrimination to different extents and I myself have encountered prejudice for being mistaken as an immigrant. Many immigrants and child of immigrants succumb to poverty in all aspects: housing, employment, education, medical, and much more.
In terms of overall wealth, “Of the 44 million immigrants in the United States as of 2019 whose poverty status could be determined, one-third (14.8 million) were low income” (A Profile). I thank God every day that I never had to go through a moment of poverty in my life, but it is so unfortunate that this is the reality for many immigrants who come looking for a better life and find nothing but lies and false illusions.
https://talkpoverty.org/2014/10/01/reducing-poverty-through-immigration-reform/
Many immigrants struggle to find affordable and adequate housing for every member in their families, which in turn leads to them living in unsafe conditions, typically in urban areas like Los Angeles, D.C., Chicago, NYC, etc. (Migration). I can personally attest to this since for 13 years of my life I have lived in a one bedroom/ one bathroom apartment with my sister, father, mother, and all kinds of animals (yes, it was very crowded). My neighborhood was predominately Salvadoran and African American and it was dangerous, but I never knew this until I visited friends’ homes in another ward.
I am pretty sure that everyone has heard about the stereotype that immigrants take people’s jobs, and although I feel as if this is a clear lie, many ignorant people do not see it that way because they want to blame their unemployment on to “illegals”. The truth is that they can see the positions that immigrants fill as field workers, janitors, and babysitters, but not the ones that they create through authentic family businesses like corner stores, restaurants, and artisanal projects (Immigrants). Immigrants play a vital role in all of our communities by sharing their countries’ blessings with the public, honoring and contributing to the idea that America is a melting pot.
Still, there are so many immigrants that miss out on employment opportunities as well. This is in part because of their documental status and language barrier. In my familial case, my mother has gotten jobs as a cashier when she first came here, a baker (where she met my father), and even a certified nurse’s assistant, or CNA. During all these jobs she has been babysitting and cleaning houses for years–even now, but she has never been able to maintain a quality job due to discrimination and xenophobia in the workplace and her employers paying her too little for her quality of work. My father on the other hand, he has worked as a window washer (those people that clean the windows on the tall buildings), a house painter, and a baker, where he has worked and stayed at. My father was luckily able to gain promotions due to his hard work and dedication to the company, but this is not to say that he has never faced discrimination as well.
https://prospect.org/labor/unions-help-immigrants-resist-deportations/
Compared to Native-born Americans, Foreign-born Americans are vulnerable to the injustices that are set in place in the law. For some reason, ignorant individuals feel that just because someone was not born in this country, that makes them dangerous and malicious. In order to ensure the safety of our foreign brothers and sisters, we must breakdown these stereotypes and build positive ones. Of course, we as citizens also have the right to vote for individuals that represent what we want from them in regards to immigrant safety. I also invite you all to not be shy and ask an immigrant about their experience and see what are some of the things that they have encountered.
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/supreme-court-daca-decision-oped
Citations:
“Here’s What We Know about Foreign-Born Workers in the U.S. – and How Their Demographics Compare to the Native-Born Population.” Peter G. Peterson Foundation, https://www.pgpf.org/blog/2022/11/the-foreign-born-labor-force-of-the-united-states#:~:text=The%20unemployment%20rate%20for%20foreign%2Dborn%20workers%20rose%20in%202020,rate%20than%20the%20native%20born.
“Immigrants and the Economy.” American Civil Liberties Union, https://www.aclu.org/other/immigrants-and-economy.
Loesche, Dyfed, and Felix Richter. “Infographic: Most Migrants Live in America’s Metropolitan Areas.” Statista Infographics, 22 Feb. 2017, https://www.statista.com/chart/8207/us-metro-areas-with-the-most-unauthorized-migrants/.
“Migration and the Right to Housing.” OHCHR, https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-housing/migration-and-right-housing#:~:text=Often%20unable%20in%20practice%20or,in%20cities%20and%20urban%20areas.
A Profile of Low-Income Immigrants in the United States. https://www.migrationpolicyinstitute-europe.com/sites/default/files/publications/mpi_low-income-immigrants-factsheet_final.pdf.