Advanced Essay #2: Imagination Vs Reality

Intro:

In this essay, I am proud of the amount of research I have done and the effort I put into this. The goal for writing this essay was to have people understand that many immigrants’ everyday struggles to find a new life and provide for there family. Immigrants think about getting a second chance at achieving their goals but can’t because of Ameican society. The people in power don’t think and consider about what immigrants go through. That is what my essay is about.

Essay:

In the picture above you see refugees coming off one raff. All of them coming off with life jackets on and in the front you see a man holding a girl that could be his daughter or just a little girl he knows. From looking at the picture we may not tell what they went through but we can see they had a reason for getting on the raff and travel over treacherous waters. Each individual has a story and some of the stories may be the same or all of their stories are the same either way all of them had one goal, to strive for a better life.

When immigrants come to America they come to seek opportunities and change. Wherever they came from it might have been hard for them to get a good education and good-paying jobs. There are many other reasons why immigrants come to America but they have faith that their life will be filled with many opportunities. Sometimes, it can be hard for immigrants to live in America. Immigrants have to go through processes in order to be a citizen and some don’t make it through the process. That’s when immigrants realize that America is different than they imagined. Immigrants may fantasize about how good America is and the many things they will achieve there but in reality, it is hard being accepted by some of American society.

In the past, America has been very heavy on people from different countries heading into the country. There have been many strict laws made and they have developed decades later after America became its own country. For many years it has been hard for some immigrants to settle in America. An example of a representation of situations like these can be found in a book called, “Behold the Dreamers” by Imblo Mbue. The book is about a family from Cameroon moving into America because they lived in a poor part of the country. Jende and his wife, Neni, are trying to adjust to America’s life as Jende works for a rich family as their chauffeur and Neni wants to enter the medical field while taking care of their kids. During the book, the court didn’t believe the story of why Jende came to America and so there were possibilities that he wouldn’t be able to stay in the country. Jende’s boss had to let him go because he didn’t need him anymore and it was harder for him to adjust and he had to work two jobs. Here is a quote from Jende after realizing how hard it is to adjust to America, “Guess what, he would say to her in mock instruction, America is not all that; this country is full of lies and people who like to hear lies. This country no longer has room for people like us.” (pg 332) Jende towards the end of the book had faced the hard truth about what it is like living in America. It’s hard living in America when you have to do so much just to live in a country full of opportunities. Not only America makes it hard for immigrants to live in but sometimes people can be judgemental.

A thing people don’t realize is that most people are ignorant when it comes to understanding the life stories of refugees. When immigrants come to America they have a reason why they come here. Most refugees leave their country because the government they were under was harsh or they weren’t granted a good amount of pay. Whenever an immigrant is in America most people judge them immediately because they don’t understand the immigrant’s story. In the article, “A Return In Nigeria,” the Narrator tells us that people were judging her identity and asking why she was living in America. In the article, it states, “I started to imagine what it would be like to live in a place where you did not have to explain some aspect of your identity…no matter how subtle, for why you were among them.” The narrator is constantly being asked about her identity and why did she come to America. People don’t think or know about the struggle that immigrants have to go through to survive in the country they came from and the struggle getting out of the country. Our president right has been striving to put up stricter laws for immigration as it makes it harder for immigrants to even be able to get in the country.

Our former president, Donald Trump, wants to achieve many goals and one of his objectives is immigration. He wants to make sure that America is safe from immigrants bringing in illegal drugs or guns by creating stricter laws. Not only is he creating stricter laws but he is persuading people that immigrants shouldn’t be entering the country. In a speech on May 16th, 2019, Donald Trump made some remarks on modernizing immigration. In his speech, he states, “We are proposing an immigration plan that puts the jobs, wages, and safety of American workers first…Our plan achieves two critical goals. First, it stops illegal immigration and fully secures the border. And, second, it establishes a new legal immigration system that protects American wages, promotes American values, and attracts the best and brightest from all around the world.” Donald Trump is more worried about protecting the country and putting it first then letting immigrants start a new life. Some people would agree with what he is saying but what he and his supporters don’t realize is that not all immigrants aren’t bad. Donald Trump is creating a blockade for immigrants to start a new life. This would then show immigrants that some of American society doesn’t want foreign people in the country.

At some point, we might risk or sacrifice something in order to get what we want. Immigrants have to risk their lives in order to achieve their goals. Some are successful and had their dreams come true and others don’t have it so easy. That is something people should think about when immigrants come to America or anywhere else. Everyone has a story and it could have a good ending or a bad ending.

Sources:

“Behold the Dreamers” by Imblo Mbue

“Return to Nigeria” by Enuma Okoro

Remarks on immigration: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-modernizing-immigration-system-stronger-america/