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The American Nightmare
"People migrate to the U.S. because they think it’s the land of opportunity. They come to experience the American Dream, when what they get is the American Nightmare."
By Karime Blanco
When I think about immigration, I think about my family. I think about the ‘jornaleros’ posted on Fourth Street just waiting for anyone to pick them up so that they can work. They’re so willing to give you your money’s worth, so that you can give them what their family eats with that night. Still people are trying to kick them out because they say they’re the cause of overpopulation, violence in school, gang violence, and lack of education.
It doesn’t occur to people that maybe everything they heard isn’t true, and if they looked at the statistics they’d realize that none of these issues correspond to the issue of immigrants. A 1994 study by Ohio University researchers found “no statistically meaningful relationship between immigration and unemployment...if there is any correlation, it would appear to be negative: higher immigration is associated with lower unemployment”.
Even with studies like this, they never get to mainstream media because that’s not what people want to hear. It’s easier to blame your problems on other people than to take responsibility for your actions.
People migrate to the U.S. because they think it’s the land of opportunity. They come to experience the American Dream, when what they get is the American Nightmare. They come and they settle for anything they can get. They work for a percentage of the minimum wage, doing the jobs that no American would want to do.
They tolerate different types of abuse and they don’t speak up because of the fear that any second, they could be deported. No one ever really has knowledge of their rights. They live in the shadows of society and are the other face of America that no one ever really thinks about.
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