On Jan. 25, President Trump signed executive orders that would cut funding for sanctuary cities and that would begin the funding for the wall between Mexico and the United States. Among those orders, there is a provision that would entail a weekly report of crimes committed by illegal immigrants in order to inform the public of dangers imposed by sanctuary cities. The purpose of this weekly list is not to make the public aware of the supposed dangers of sanctuary cities but rather to divide us more and make us fear our neighbors. Its sole purpose is none other than but to be used as propaganda to incite hatred to immigrants that come for a better life and the American Dream.
This list does not include the fact that immigrants are much less likely to commit crimes in comparison to natives, increased immigration does not increase crime, and that mass deportations do not decrease crime rates. This list also does not include the millions of immigrants who have contributed to this nation in a positive economic and social way. For example Oscar Vazquez, who was brought into the United States as a child, dreamed of serving and protecting his nation however was denied due to his legal status. After being denied he joined and became the leader of a robotics team where in a truly inspiring tale, that was later adapted into a movie called Spare Parts, he and his team of three other Hispanics beat a team from Cambridge. They barely collected enough money to create their robot but with passion and dedication in their heart they were able to fight all odds and obstacles put against them, and is that not a core American value? After this he gained enough scholarship money to go to Arizona State University, where afterwards he was deported but later given the opportunity to come back to the US and serve in the Military.
Stories of immigrants like Oscar Vazquez and thousands of others prove that many come to this beautiful nation in hopes of opportunity. I have come to known immigrants who wake up early every single day to work hours under the blistering sun to make money to be able to give their children a better life. Immigrants who sacrifice themselves and dream of nothing more but for their children to be successful. Trump’s immigration policies do nothing but highlight and impose a growing divide in our nation. They portray a negative image of hard working people and only show a small percentage of the immigrant community. Trump lacks to show the prevailing side of immigrants, the side that shows that immigrants make America great.
