Part 1 (300 words)
Reflecting on what you’ve learned, discuss at least one issue that people who are undocumented are facing. How does this affect a person on an individual level? Do you think that the issue you described is systematic or structural in nature? Why or why not?
Refer to at least one of the course materials (video or reading) in your response.
Part 2( 150 words)
Reply to one classmate.
America, the land of fresh beginnings and opportunity; the nation where many immigrants come in quest of all the things this country is lauded for, but what isn’t emphasized are the rigors immigrants undergo in order to build a life and seize said opportunities without documentation. Whether it’s limitations on life changing propositions, employment opportunities, or all in all, enduring prejudice. All these factors have a direct impact on undocumentated individuals that reside in the United States.
To begin, It is without a doubt or to be precise undeniable that all these factors have a great bearing on undocumented individuals that reside in America. Taking a look at “I’m a Dreamer and a Rhodes Scholar. Where Do I Belong?” By Jin Park, one can see the toils that Jin( an undocumented invdivual) undergoes, for he is evidently deprived of a life changing opportuntity that he solemnly earned due to his documentation status. Through a recollection Jin depicts, “ yet I resist citing my “intelligence” or “abilities’ ‘ to defend my presence here, because a human being need not be a Rhodes scholar to be treated with basic fairness and decency. A human being shouldn’t have to be a “genius” or “economically productive” to have access to equal opportunity.” This is a frequent consequence undocumented immigrants face, a consequence that isn’t emphazied as much as the “American dream”. To this day many immigrants like Jin Park are still deprived of opportunities in which they’ve earned, deprived and frowned upon all because of papers.
Systemic can be defined as relating to a system, especially as opposed to a particular part. I would be remiss if I said this unfortunate phenomenon wasn’t systemic because it is indeed something that is embedded within the American system. Thousands of immigrants are stripped of basic liberties because of their documentation status. The laws in which America is founded, much like the I-9 process instituted in the year of 1986, are responsible for the tribulations of unauthorized immigrants. Jin was only seven when he came to America, knowing nothing of where he originated, it is safe to say he is practically American, but wasn’t considered so by the government. In this day and age, scholarships are funded by the government which means without a green card, social security or citizenship you are not considered eligible. With that being said, many immigrants(undocumented) who strive and work for college opportunties and scholarships are prohbitted from seizing them because of the system that funds it.
I remember when I was graduating high school. I didn’t apply, but was awarded a full scholarship to a college of my choice. Unfortunately, I couldn’t accept it because it was government funded and I was undocumented. I was heartbroken . Not because I was stripped away from a scholarship but because I worked hard, graduated valedictorian and my perseverance was acknowledged but one minor thing prevented me from going to school debt free. I now work two jobs to help my mother pay my tuition out of pocket.
Watch:
Undocumented Americans: What is it like to grow up as an undocumented youth in America?
https://www.apa.org/topics/immigration-refugees/undocumented-video
Passel, J. S. (2019). Measuring illegal immigration: How Pew Research Center counts unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. Pew Research Center.
Watch the video, skim the article.
Read:
Mills, “The Sociological Imagination” https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/17/key-findings-about-u-s-immigrants/
Budiman, A. (2020). Key findings about U.S. immigrants. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/17/key-findings-about-u-s-immigrants/
Krogstad, J. M., Passel, J. S., & Cohn, D. (2019). 5 facts about illegal immigration in the U.S. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/12/5-facts-about-illegal-immigration-in-the-u-s/
Key facts about the changing U.S. unauthorized immigrant population https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/04/13/key-facts-about-the-changing-u-s-unauthorized-immigrant-population/
Park, J. (2019, January 11). I’m a Dreamer and a Rhodes Scholar. Where Do I Belong? The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/11/opinion/dreamer-rhodes-scholar-human.html
Zhou, M., & Gonzales, R. G. (2019). Divergent Destinies: Children of Immigrants Growing up in the United States. Annual Review of Sociology, 45(1). https://www-annualreviews-org.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/doi/10.1146/annurev-soc-073018-022424#
Migration Policy Institute. Profile of the Unauthorized Population: United States. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/data/unauthorized-immigrant-population/state/US
Lots of statistics here, review for reference
Taparta, E. (2016). The US has come a long way since its first, highly restrictive naturalization law. https://www.pri.org/stories/2016-07-04/us-has-come-long-way-its-first-highly-restrictive-naturalization-law
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