PAC Student Media

By Samantha Torres
Pulse Staff Reporter

Fleeing violence, walking in forbidden territories, treading through treacherous waters and avoiding law enforcement…this is the story for many immigrants in the United States.

“Now we don’t know what we are classified as. Maybe we are drug addicts, killers or even rapists,” said Veranya Robledo, sophomore at Palo Alto College, who often gets asked where she is from because of her accent. “Many start jumping to conclusions that we are bad people.”

According to a June 26, 2018, article in “The Atlantic” magazine, Central American families are fleeing armed violence, gang recruitment, police harassment, death threats and sexual violence. Immigrants come to the U.S. because they want to have a better life, not just for  themselves, but also for their children.

“We all have rights, and we all have  to be treated like a person who has a value,” said Nhephtali Ortiz, a Sociology major at Palo Alto.

Some immigrants are here to have a second chance at living a steady life. They are only here for their dreams, like finishing school and becoming productive in life.

Deportation has no bias when it comes to gender or age: for the men, who work day and night to bring food home; the mom, who stays home to clean, wash the dishes, and prepare meals; and the sons and daughters, who go to school to help their parents have a better life.

Immigrants only want to come to a better country to be successful so they can prove to everybody back home that they are doing well and that they are able to help them.

“Immigrants should be welcomed and not denied to be held in some type of cage,” said Destiny Sanchez, a Liberal Arts major at Palo Alto.

 Asylum seekers are held in Detention Centers, also known as Concentration Camps, while they wait for the next step.

“I don’t know who is heartless enough to actually think that’s okay,” said Sanchez.

According to an Oct 8. 2019, article on CBS News’ website: “President Trump’s border security chief touted the fourth consecutive month of lower numbers of apprehensions along the U.S.-Mexico border, but he also revealed that arrests of border-crossing migrants approached 1 million over the past 12 months.”

If you are interested in helping asylum seekers, refugees and at-risk immigrants, contact the Interfaith Welcome Coalition at sanantoniowelcome@gmail.com or sign up as a volunteer at https://interfaithwelcomecoalition.org/get-involved.