ART 3170 Civic Engagement: Social Issues "Action" Project: Immigration Reform

How An Immigration Reform Would Benefit Undocumented Students by Cristopher Vega

Research:

Immigration is a topic of high concern in the United States. In 2010, approximately 11.2 million illegal immigrants resided in the United States (New York Times, 2011). That number had been unchanged from the previous year. With these immigrants coming into the United States, they sometimes bring their whole family for a chance of a much better future than they would have had in their native country. The majority of those children that are brought into the United States by their parents are going to study in school. When they are still young, they don't notice the struggles they will have to face in the future because of the fact that they are undocumented.

In July of 2012, a law by the name of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) was passed in the United States. This law was going to allow those children who were brought into the U.S. by their parents to no longer fear deportation and also to have a legal work permit (American Progress, 2014). This was a great relief for the undocumented students but this would only help the students out, not their families. With that being said, now students would have the fear of one day coming home and their families not being there because they were deported for being illegal. Not only does this cause psychological harm to the students, but it also affects their learning. Many students were lacking attendance to their schools and others were even suffering from stress issues due to parental separation because of being deported, (New America, 2014). Another study showed that students who read to their parents develop more skills than even those who receive extra tutoring at schools ("Online Library", n.d.). Therefore, if students lose their parents due to deportation, they will have even less opportunities of finishing school because they will not only lack the skills but also because they will not have that physical motivation that a parent provides to them.

An immigration reform would relieve undocumented students from the problems that weren't addressed by DACA which include that of their parents being deported out of the United States. It would not only increase the students moral but they would leave an even more peaceful life. I say this because an immigration reform would not only grant residency to their parents but it would also give them legal work permits that would eventually lead into their parents getting a better paying job and therefore the student could focus on school alone rather than having to work a full time and be a full time student which can trigger even more stress to their life.

References:

Bergmann, Charlotte. "Immigration Reform 2014: How Obama's Executive Action Benefits Undocumented Students." New America. N.p., 11 Dec. 2104. Web. 15 Nov. 2016. Retrieved from https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/edcentral/immigration_execorder/

"COLLABORATION BETWEEN TEACHERS AND PARENTS IN ASSISTING CHILDREN'S READING." - TIZARD - 1982 - British Journal of Educational Psychology - Wiley Online Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2016. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.2044-8279.1982.tb02498.x/abstract

Pérez, Zenen Jaimes. "How DACA Has Improved the Lives of Undocumented Young People." Center for American Progress. N.p., 19 Dec. 2014. Web. 15 Nov. 2016. Retrieved from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/immigration/reports/2014/11/19/101868/how-daca-has-improved-the-lives-of-undocumented-young-people/

Preston, Julia. "11.2 Million Illegal Immigrants in U.S. in 2010, Report Says; No Change From ’09." The New York Times. The New York Times, 01 Feb. 2011. Web. 15 Nov. 2016. Retrieved from

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/02/us/02immig.html

Personal:

With there being 11.2 million illegal immigrants in the United States, an immigration reform would help a great part of the nation. This issue is relevant to me because I am an undocumented student that benefits from DACA but live in a country where I fear that one day I will come home and my parents will no longer be there. Many of my childhood friends have lost their parents because of deportation and seeing what they go through makes the fear even greater. There are hundreds of thousands undocumented students in the United States that would greatly benefit from an immigration reform just as I would.