No Love Found

I hated living in a foster home. I lived with kids who were rude and mean, and who bullied each other. A foster mom who indeed cared for her foster children, but did not have enough love to go around. I was lost and hurt, and I just wanted my parents back. I needed to be loved; I lost the only love I had ever gotten and was not able to find any love back. I was so angry that as soon as our lives were together and we were enjoying how we lived, it was all stripped away from us. I had no idea where my parents were, and had not spoken to them for weeks. I asked my foster mother if she could just send me to Colombia to be with family members or with my parents (if that is where they were), but she assured me that there was no way on earth that that would be happening. Why does the immigration and government do this? Don't they have families as well? Why do they think it is okay to strip children of their parents and just throw them into foster homes? My life had changed so dramatically, I had no clue where my life was going, and it was all because the US immigration thought it was okay to split me and my family up.

Catch an Illegal

Jason Villalba of the Dallas News reported on November 25, 2013 that students of an organization at the University of Texas commissioned an event called "Catch an Illegal Immigrant." Apparently this was a game in which a person would win a $25 gift card if they reported an illegal immigrant. Villalba states that "instead of denigrating and dehumanizing those among us who have transgressed our laws, let us find ways to better enable undocumented immigrants to satisfy their obligations to our country, to pay back taxes and any penalties that they have incurred as a result of their transgressions, and to learn English and assimilate into the American culture." I could not agree with him more. In previous posts I have expressed that illegal immigrants are usually here to better their lives, and I think that Villalba thinks the same. His idea of doing things to better enable these immigrants to satisfy their obligations are perfect. Illegal immigrants are people too, and many people seem to forget this.

As a conservative Hispanic, explaining 'catch an illegal' to my child

Another Step Forward

David Nakamura of The Washington Post posted an article on August 12, 2013 stating that Obama's move to "halt the deportation of some immigrants" has allowed the administration to grant "more than 400,000 of those young immigrants temporary waivers to live and work in the United States, making Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals one of largest legalization efforts in decades." Such a relief that these people are getting chances! Maybe the government will one day be able to know the good from the bad and realize that many of these immigrants come to have a better life. I think this is the start of something amazing.

Push to legalize children of illegal immigrants is new flash point in debate

Arrested and Abandoned

Early one morning, I was lying in bed and my mother frantically shook me out of my sleep. She was so worried, telling me to get dressed because "la migra is here." "La migra" is slang for "the immigration" in Spanish. I got dressed, as i was told to do, and walked out into the living room to see my mother and father in handcuffs and surrounded by federal agents. They explained to me that my parents were being deported back to Colombia. I did nothing but burst into tears and beg them not to take my parents away from me. I was only 13-years-old. Where was I going to go? Who was going to look after me? I had no idea, and I was very afraid. They assured me that I would be fine and that I would have a place to go. I was taken to the immigration office where I was questioned and not even an hour later I was taken to a foster home. I was in an unusual place living with people I did not know. I did not like the life that was suddenly given to me and I felt abandoned.

Obama Understands?

Stephen Dinan of The Washington Times posted an article on Friday, August 23, 2013 stating that President Obama "issued a policy last week telling immigration agents to try not to arrest and deport illegal immigrant parents of minor children." The article also states that this got much praise from immigrant rights groups, and I too praise this. Many of these immigrant rights groups feel that it is a "step forward toward a kinder detention policy" and I agree. I feel that when illegal immigrant parents are found, they should be investigated and not immediately deported. Many families come to America for a chance at a better life or for a chance to be able to provide for their families, not to cause any harm or any trouble. When illegal immigrant parents are arrested (especially in front of their children) much distress can be caused on the child(ren). No child should have to watch their parents be stripped away from them. For these reasons, they should be given ample time to leave the country rather than immediately arrested and deported. What do you think about President Obama's move?

Obama adds to list of illegal immigrants not to deport: Parents

The Birth

My parents continued with their lives, living normally and enjoying their new home while awaiting the birth of their first born. My parents were more than excited to be having the perfect life they had always been wanting. The only downside to their new life was that they were always looking over their shoulders because they never knew if the immigration was ever going to find them and deport them. I was born on February 18, 1985 in Tampa, Florida. Now that they had a baby on American soil, who is now considered to be American due to the Fourteenth Amendment made in 1868, my parents felt safe. Although they did not plan to have me and their motives to have me were not so that they will be able to stay in America, I made them feel as if they were exempted from deportation. They were wrong.

When It All Began

My parents were born and raised in Bogota, Colombia and were struggling to survive with the jobs they had. They wanted to find a better life, and they knew it wasn't going to happen if they stayed in Colombia. They traveled to America in hopes of receiving this better life. Upon arriving in Tampa, Florida, they learned that my mother was pregnant with me, and began to seek for jobs. I assume that laws pertaining to the workforce were not as strict when they were looking for jobs as they are now, because they quickly found jobs and rented a tiny 1 bedroom apartment. Their new lives had begun!