Immigration Kimberly Mendez

Immigration Separation of Families 

There has been far to many separation of families, for those who don't fully know what is going on recently dozen of parents are being separated from their children and are labeled unaccompanied minors. They are being sent to government custody for foster care while there parents are labeled as criminals and sent to jail. Trump has encouraged Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to arrest as many people as they could. These agents are in plain clothes and a regular vehicle, but wore vests emblazoned with the word POLICE. After strong growth the Mexican Immigration population in the U.S. has increased every year between 2010-2017. Mexicans are still the largest foreign born group in the country. For over the years migration from Mexico to the United States have been driven by immigrants who seek economic opportunities, but now migration patterns have changed because of the Trump administration. Their has been articles saying that children cry themselves to sleep because they don't know where their parent's are. According to VOX by Dara Lind, "there is a policy that all adults crossing into the US illegally are supposed to be criminally prosecuted and when that happens to a parent separation is inevitable." People that are caught crossing the border or have had a past criminal history are caught by ICE and held in an Immigration detention center and before judge to see if they will be deported or get prison time. According to New York Times, "reported that from October 2017 to April 20, 2018, 700 families were split by the Trump administration. (The Trump administration claims it piloted its “zero-tolerance” prosecution policy in the Rio Grande Valley in summer 2017, which would have led to family separations over that period." As a result any immigrant who is undocumented is now at the risk of being arrested and deported. In communities across the country people feel threaten because most immigrants are living in fear that ICE will catch them and separate form their families. 

This social issue is truly important to me because as an Mexican American, I am going through the same situation these kids in the video are going through. Now that Trump has changed policies of taking parent's away from their children this has harmed our community. My dad is currently in a detention center held by ICE and I haven't seen him in about 4 months and is currently waiting if they will send him to back to Mexico. I tear up when I talk about this because I am a citizen but those kids who don't have papers and are toddlers have to be separated from their mom or dad. I believe this is wrong just because Trump doesn't want any immigrants in United States. I chose to write this social issue because is it terrifying for those who migrated and are now living in fear that any day they can be taken by ICE. It's sad to say that these agents are just wondering around as normal people and deporting those who think they are immigrants on the streets. My dad was relaxing at home when ICE came he thought they were regular people calling his name out on the street but the next second he was in handcuffs just because he is from Mexico and my Dad does have a visa, but they are looking at every possible situation to send him back. This has harmed my family financially since my dad was the bread winner and him not being at any of my college games. As you can see many kids are going through the same situation and my heart aches for them because it feels like your parent is dead. I understand that they want to stop people from coming into the US illegally, but separating families is hurting children and adults. 

Year	Mexican Born	Total Immigrants	Mexican Born as a Share of All Immigrants
1850	13,300	2,244,600	0.6%
1860	27,500	4,138,700	0.7%
1870	42,400	5,567,200	0.8%
1880	68,400	6,679,900	1.0%
1890	77,900	9,249,500	0.8%
1900	103,400	10,341,300	1.0%
1910	221,900	13,515,900	1.6%
1920	486,400	13,920,700	3.5%
1930	641,500	14,204,100	4.5%
1940	357,800	11,494,100	3.1%
1950	451,400	11,454,900	3.9%
1960	575,900	9,738,100	5.9%
1970	759,700	9,619,300	7.9%
1980	2,199,200	14,079,900	15.6%
1990	4,298,000	19,767,300	21.7%
2000	9,177,500	31,107,900	29.5%
2010	11,711,100	39,955,700	29.3%
2011	11,672,600	40,377,800	28.9%
2012	11,563,400	40,824,600	28.3%
2013	11,585,000	41,348,000	28.0%
2014	11,714,500	42,391,800	27.6%
2015	11,643,300	43,290,400	26.9%
2016	11,573,700	43,739,300	26.5%
2017	11,269,900	44,525,900	25.3%

"Know Your Rights with ICE" 
Recently I have notice a couple of people that are being detained by ICE and their is help to be aware if an ICE agent approaches you. If any love one is at risk of deportation they should have a plan. It's important to know which rights you have to exercise them. People that are wondering what to do when ICE approaches, them this is a good flyer to read and prepare. 

https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.org/.../IDP-ICE-Raids-Flyer-ENG-Jan-13-2018....

What should I do if ICE agents approach me on the street or in public?
When ICE agents arrest someone in public, it typically happens quickly. They may call your name out loud and askyou to confirm your name and then detain you.
• Before you say your name or anything else, ask, “AM I FREE TO GO?”
• If they say YES: Say, “I don’t want to answer your questions” or “I’d rather not speak with you right now.”
• If ICE starts to search inside your pockets or belongings, say, “I do not consent to a search.”
• 
• DON’T LIE or show false documents. Don’t flee or resist arrest.• Don’t answer questions about your immigration status or where you were born. They will use any information
I reached out to some member of my community, which includes family and friends as well as classmates on their feelings towards separation of families today. 
Desiree Padilla on the talk of ICE of Separation of Family 

Walk away.• If they say NO: Use your right to remain silent! Say, “I want to use my right not to answer questions” and
then “I want to speak to a lawyer.”
you provide against you. Do not hand over any foreign documents such as a passport, consular IDs, or expired visas.
• If you are in Criminal Court for a court date, ask to speak to your defender before they take you away

Desiree Padilla on the talk of ICE of Separation of Family 


















"I feel like families that are being separated by ICE is very devastating because the process is very long for those who are detained. It's nerve braking that you will never see your family close by and people will have to travel just across the world just to see their family who got deported. Sometimes money is tight and those that are deported miss out on the small memories a kid goes through just because they have to go back to their country." 
 
Martha Mendez on the talk of ICE of Separation of Family

















"This topic is really hard for me to speak about because I am going through the same situation. My husband is currently detained and has been with ICE for about 5 months. It's hard for me because he was the breadwinner and now I have to work a lot more extra hours since he isn't here anymore. I know God has a plan, but I'm lucky that I got my citizen licenses. For those that are going through this tough situation don't lose hope and keep fighting for your rights. I am lucky my kids are older and have papers, but it hurts to live without the person you love most and feel like he is in jail and seen as a criminal only because he doesn't have papers. I believe we need to keep talking about this issue and take action with our new president hurting families."


Brian Saldana on the talk of ICE of Separation of Family 



















"I think it's unjustified the way the kids are being treated and getting fair treatment. The kids don't know what is going on and it's not being handled very well. I think their should be a new form to handle deportation." 


Jeffery Padilla on the talk of ICE of Separation of Family 


















"Immigration has always been an issue here in United States. But recently with Trump being new President you see a lot of families being separated. Something needs to change because poor kids are suffering just because their parents want a better opportunity here in America. It's not fair for those immigrants that have been here for years and now with a new president it's an issue" 












Sources :
Campbell, Alexia Fernández, Dara Lind, Lauren Katz, Jennie Neufeld, Matthew Yglesias, and David A. Martin. "Immigrant Families Remain Separated after Crossing the US-Mexico Border." Vox. June 15, 2018. Accessed November 04, 2018. https://www.vox.com/2018/6/15/17468728/immigration-separating-families-ice-trump-border-protests.

Lind, Dara. "The Trump Administration's Separation of Families at the Border, Explained." Vox. June 15, 2018. Accessed November 04, 2018. https://www.vox.com/2018/6/11/17443198/children-immigrant-families-separated-parents.

Lind, Dara. "Trump's DHS Is Using an Extremely Dubious Statistic to Justify Splitting up Families at the Border." Vox. May 08, 2018. Accessed November 04, 2018. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/5/8/17327512/sessions-illegal-immigration-border-asylum-families.

MSNBC. YouTube. June 18, 2018. Accessed November 04, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK2nkpmLZ7g&t=94s.

Zong, Jie, Jeanne Batalova Jie Zong, and Jeanne Batalova. "Mexican Immigrants in the United States." Migrationpolicy.org. October 31, 2018. Accessed November 04, 2018. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/mexican-immigrants-united-states.