Illegal Immigrant Research Paper

Getting through high school, getting a license, getting into college, and getting a job are all extremely intimidating parts of every young adult’s life, but it is hard to imagine doing all these things illegally with the fear that at any moment everything could come crashing down. In Jose Antonio Vargas’s article, “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant”, Vargas explains his take on the struggles of being a gay, illegal immigrant trying to achieve the American Dream. Throughout the article, Vargas tells his story and really makes the reader feel sympathy for his fight and his strength. He does a very good job keeping the readers drawn in as well as appealing to pathos and ethos.

Jose Antonio Vargas, courageous author of the essay “Outlaw”, contributes a first-hand life story to the boiling pot that is the argument over immigration. He recalls his own story chronologically, beginning with the month and words spoken by his mother on his day of departure over twenty years ago. He justifies the reasoning behind his leaving by retelling almost every illegal immigrant’s initiative, a craving for “a better life”. Vargas takes the reader on his journey, piggybacking through his fight for citizenship. He explains the numerous obstacles he’s had to bob and weave around and the laws he’s had to duck and cover for. On paper, Jose is the perfect American citizen, loved by his teachers and bosses a clean cut right side of the tracks

Have you ever thought about what it would be like if you found out you were undocumented in America? In the book “Dear America Notes of an Undocumented Citizen,” by Jose Antonio Vargas, you get to read first about Vargas’s experiences. “Dear America Notes of an Undocumented Citizen,” by Jose Antonio Vargas is about Jose Vargas, the author of the book, and his experience coming to America as an Undocumented Citizen. Due to Vargas being an undocumented citizen in America, he has to go his whole life without a driver's license and other important documents. In the story near the end, we see how Jose comes out to the public as undocumented, however nothing seems to happen to him since he came out even though he's undocumented.

One’s cultural experience of poverty can make one take full advantage of the opportunities one gets. Just like Reyna in the novel The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande, Reyna and her family luckily got their green card by an act of government amnesty which gave all the illegal immigrants that were currently in the country a green card. For one instance, after she went back to Mexico to visit her grandmother with her mom and after seeing her cousin, Reyna said “Now I realized that we owed it to them, our cousins, our friends, to do something with our lives, If not for us, then for them, because they would never be able to. I understood so clearly now why papi said there were so many people would die to have the opportunities we had, who

In “Everyday Illegal” Cecilia Menjivar explains how illegal immigrants are affected every day because of their illegal status. The undocumented immigrants wake up every day before dawn, they go to the fields to collect all the vegetables and fruits you are able to eat. Then, they go home after dusk. They do it every day for less than a half of what a person is expected to be paid. They are being exploited physically and mentally and not just because of the work conditions but, as Menjivar states “the undocumented (as well as their family members) often withdraw from public life for fear of detention and deportation” (725).

In the article of “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio Vargas, he tells his story from the minute he arrived in America. Vargas first arrived in this country by a lie. He was told by his mother to get on and get on a play with his uncle, which he had never met before at the age 12. Over the course of his life, Vargas soon discovered he had come to America as an illegal immigrant. His grandfather Lolo and Lola took him as his own to care and provided the basics in life, to have a better life than in the Philippines. Vargas took it upon his mission to be successful in school and hope that the hard work would pay of and become the American he wanted to be.

Jose’s father had always mainly worked construction jobs with other undocumented immigrants and Jose joined his father’s line of work because there were not many jobs available to him and he felt obligated to contribute to the family, “A second feature of the Hispanic American family is the emphasis on cooperativeness and on placing the needs of the family ahead of individual concerns” (Manning & Baruth, 2009, p.170). Jose dreamed of going to college and pursuing art or graphic design but even these simple goals were out of reach for him because of his undocumented status.

The “American dream”, a national ethos of the United States, is sought after by many struggling immigrants who go through much risk in order to make a better living in the U.S. A long debated issue over illegal immigration into the U.S revolves around Mexican/Latino immigrants. With Honduras having little to no medical care and harsh living environments, many of its citizens seek to find jobs to support their families. Enrique’s Journey, bye Sonia Nazario sheds a new light on immigration in the U.S with the account of one particular Honduran boy who is trying to immigrate to the U.S. From the view of privileged individuals, these immigrants may be seen as a problem, with a simple solution; do not let them into the U.S. However, this problem has a much more complex lining.

A spiral of events lead Mr. Jose Vargas to unrightfully apologize to former bosses and employers regarding his immigration status. Many undocumented citizens, Vargas states approximately, “11 million undocumented immigrants” have endured a battle to gain their citizenship. Obtaining proper documents, Green Cards, social security numbers and drivers licenses is undesirably long and difficult. Mr. Vargas, a college graduate and acclaimed author for major newspapers was denied of jobs, opportunities and scholarships despite the numerous accomplishments he gained.

In recent news, the nation has had the ongoing debate of whether or not the United States should welcome illegal immigrants. It is estimated that there are 11.3 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. Many of these people have come here in search of a better life, that they realize our country can provide. These immigrants make up a significant portion of our labor force and in many cases are willing to do jobs that American workers will not do. Therefore, by allowing them the opportunity to live and work here, many have become productive members of our society, without committing a crime.

The United States is known as “the land of opportunities and hope” but it does not always offer what it portrays. Undocumented immigrants who come to the U.S. in search of “the American dream” have faced many injustices in this country, a country which claims to be free and fair. Undocumented immigrants are everywhere; however, not all immigrants are bad or trying to hurt others. In the United States, especially in California, Mexicans are the targeted group when it comes to politics and other important government issues. Mexicans are seen as invaders who are constantly killing and raping, but in reality this is not true. There are some Mexicans who kill and rape, yet there are also Mexicans who come to the U.S. to work and provide for their family.

There are many hotly debated and contentious issues today. Issues that people often find themselves arguing about with their friends, or something that people have a very strong presupposed belief of. But none more hotly debated or more querulous perhaps, than our immigration system. Very few issues have the magnitude and aptitude to tear an entire nation apart, and this is one of them. As with every struggle, there are two point of views. There are those that welcome the cultural differences and the economical possibilities that immigrants bring with them, along with their traditions and their work ethic. On the opposite side, there are those that view them as a potential threat to our barely recovering economy and to their American way of

Undocumented Americans are like any other Americans, but with limited freedoms and opportunities as their other American peers. In the United States, undocumented Americans number about 2.1 million, and almost half of them are now adults (Friedman, November 10th, 2016). Many of these undocumented Americans were born in Mexico, moved to the United States and began their lives as American since they were young. This particular group of immigrant youths face uncertain futures clouded by fear and frustration due to the lack of rights, opportunities, and supports from both the general publics and the government. Many undocumented Americans do not fully realize the constraints of their status until they become young adults. Undocumented Americans’

Imagine putting yourself in the shoes of an illegal immigrant. You have to feed your family, get money to pay the rent, and prevent getting caught from immigration authorities. The consequences for getting caught could include deportation or serving time in jail. 11 million undocumented immigrants currently live in the United States and have a family to take care of. Families caught under pressure in their own country might not have a choice but to enter a country illegally. Others would say that immigration laws should not let illegal immigrants into the US regardless of the circumstances, but these Immigration laws are unorganized and broken because millions of undocumented

As the issue of undocumented immigrants once again dominates the news headlines, our politicians are faced with the difficult task of enforcing the laws of our land, yet humanely and ethically tending to those who illegally reside within America 's borders. As the political parties face off with differing ideologies, the undocumented, who are seen as victims from one side and criminals from the other, are caught in this citizenship purgatory until a political compromise can be achieved. Until such a compromise occurs, the nation is left dealing with the fallout of this population’s existence. Not belonging, they are left to fend for themselves while living in the shadows. Surviving through government assistance or using a stolen identity as a means to gain employment, the undocumented struggle to survive in a nation that is aware of their existence yet chooses to do nothing about it. To address the illegal immigration epidemic in the United States, its leaders must hold all lawbreakers accountable while compassionately and ethically addressing the issue through a balanced approach of amnesty and deportation.