The American Dream

Reyna, Isabella
Dallas ISD-12th Grade

Every day on the news you hear at least one talking point about immigration, but what is
immigration truly? Immigration is the act of changing to a foreign country to live there
permanently. However most of the time when we hear immigration we hear illegal immigration.
Illegal immigration is defined as the act of illegally crossing a United States border, without the
use of proper documentation, such as a passport or visa. Illegal immigration is mostly affecting
our down south bordering countries such as Mexico, along with Central and South America. At
the end of 2014, there were a total of 486,651 illegal immigrant apprehensions, one of the all
time lows since 1970.
The problem with illegal immigration is that its happening at such a fast rate with intense
numbers. When immigrants come over they do participate in our economy by finding jobs,
however its the fact that they dont completely interact with our economy one hundred percent.
When it comes to illegal immigration I am biased to some percent due to the fact that I am from
Mexican heritage. Both of my parents were children when they crossed the border, however they
did have passports at the time. I have seen the effects of illegal immigration first hand; its ugly
and inhumane.
Illegal immigrants are treated as outcast and are constantly mistreated, for not belonging to this
country. The only way to give these people a true sense of being is by passing the long awaited
Immigration Referred Act. By passing this act we can let this people finally become residents
and citizens for the country that they love so much.
To become citizens the immigrants would have to pass a background check and start paying
taxes, as well as pay a fee for illegally crossing the border. I do understand that the government is
hesitant about handing out citizenship to the illegal crooks and felons, but thats the thing they

don't have to. As a kid I was raised with the ideology that every action has its consequences. So
instead of handing citizenship to crooks let them pay for the felonies or misdemeanors with some
jail time, and if we see that they have changed once they get out then they re apply for
citizenship, if they have not then thats the correct time to deport them back to their mother
countries.
The Referred Act has received much support from high-end influential people, such as the Pope.
The Pope is the leader of the Catholic Church, with Catholicism being the main religion within
immigrants. The Pope recently visited the United States of America, and stated that no immigrant
should be ashamed of his or her origins, if they were humble origins. He drew in crowds of a
million, just because he understands illegal immigration and how it affects our future as a
country. There was a group of approximately 100 women who marched 100 miles from York,
Pennsylvania to Washington D.C, to emphasize the Popes support for citizenship for the 11
million immigrants within the United States of America. Many of those women have jobs as
housekeepers, the most popular job for immigrant women. These low-income jobs act as a
metaphor, they represent the Hispanics ambition for a life based upon the American Dream.
Another important factor of the Popes visit was his interaction with Sophie Cruz; Sophie is
the symbol for illegal immigration and what it strives for. Its the same old story told over and
over again, her parents are illegal immigrants whom traveled to the Unites States to ensure that
their 5-year old daughter had a better education, and a better chance of advancement than they
did. As Pope Francis was addressing Congress he state the following, On this continent, too,
thousands of persons are led to travel north in search of a better life for themselves and for
their loved ones, in search of greater opportunities. Is this not what we want for our own
children? We must not be taken aback by their numbers, but rather view them as persons,

seeing their faces and listening to their stories, trying to respond as best we can to their
situation. This statement is to emphasize the daily situation that immigrant families go through,
the daily dread of wondering if and when there family is going to be tear apart for not having the
right documentation to live within the borders of this country.
If I could give the President one piece of advice, it would be to just go with it. Push and keep on
the pushing the reform act upon congress and senate until they vote it through, and to stop
worrying about what societies high-end influential people think, because in the end, they werent
the ones who built this country from the ground up. As the president he knows whats best for
this country, and that is to pass the Immigration Reform act, because in the end immigrants are
the FUTURE of the United States of America.

Resources
Cervantes, W. (2015, September 24). Pope Francis, Sophie Cruz,
and a Message to Our Nation's Leaders - First Focus. Retrieved
September 27, 2015, from http://firstfocus.org/blog/pope-francissophie-cruz-and-a-message-to-our-nations-leaders/
Krogstad, J., & Passel, J. (2015, July 24). 5 facts about illegal
immigration in the U.S. Retrieved September 27, 2015, from
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/24/5-facts-aboutillegal-immigration-in-the-u-s/
Take a stand for immigration reform. (n.d.). Retrieved September
27, 2015, from https://www.barackobama.com/immigrationreform/
Calvert, S. (2015, September 18). Women's Immigration March to
Washington to Coincide with Pope's Visit. The Wall Street Journal,
p. A5.