![Picture](/uploads/1/0/1/2/101294864/editor/screen-shot-2017-03-14-at-5-19-29-pm.png?1489530097)
Kayla Pungkeo
Struggles of an Illegal Immigrant
Did you know asylum is better known among immigrants and refugees? To many of them, asylum is a “safe place” or refuge. Individuals are made of different characteristics. These characteristics can span from race, gender, religion, class and citizenship. Although these characteristics make them “different”, research shows that we all have common denominators.
Recently, I spoke with a family member of an immigrant. This individual took their time and gave me a chance to understand what an immigrant’s lifestyle is really about. To understand an immigrant’s lifestyle is very complex and fascinating to comprehend as a different perspective of life. You get the opportunity to basically step into someone else’s footsteps and imagine the struggles for relocation.
The sit down interview began with a series of questions that explained what the immigrant has gone through over the course of time. As an interviewer, I asked questions that would be very beneficial to be known, while not overstepping boundaries of invading one’s privacy. The information given is very worthy and important to understand as a nonimmigrant. The interview below will be shown through a Q&A.
Q: Are they an immigrant or refugee?
A: Immigrant.
Q: Where is the immigrant from?
A: Guerrero, Mexico.
Q: Why did they come to the U.S.?
A: To get a better life for their family.
Q: What obstacles did they come across?
A: They had to obtain a VISA to come to the United States. Following this, they moved to Dallas, TX where they held a job as a bartender for 10 years. Then decided to move to Nashville, TN after receiving a job opportunity in construction.
Q: What caused the immigrant to relocate from the U.S.?
A: Unfortunately, the immigrant ran into some legal trouble.
Q: Was there any possible way of stopping the deportation?
A: Legal family members over 21 could get the immigrant papers to stay in the United States.
Q: How did the immigrant’s family feel when they knew the immigrant was getting deported?
A: The family felt very sad and upset because the immigrant was going to leave, but also mad because in the process of getting papers, the immigrant was already being deported. They were all in the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, where the news was being shared. The family was there to show support and concern.
Q: Do you remember anything being said at the time of the deportation?
A: The spouse of the immigrant was very shocked and screamed, “No, no, don’t take him!”
Q: Did you know that deportation was in the immigrant’s future?
A: Yes, because of the lifestyle they were living.
Q: Can you tell the time of how the deportation was set?
A: In February 2016, the immigrant had gotten arrested in Louisiana, then 6 months later was deported back to Guerrero, Mexico. After being in their home country, the immigrant came back to the U.S. and resided in Houston, TX, then moved to Nashville, TN to continue their life with their family.
Q: How did the immigrant feel during the deportation?
A: The immigrant felt very depressed and thought mainly about coming back to the United States to their family.
Q: Has the immigrant’s lifestyle changed after the deportation?
A: Yes, they have stopped their bad habits and have continued to work legally in construction.
Q: Lastly, what do you believe the immigrant wanted in the long run of being in the U.S.?
A: Happiness and to maintain a better life with their family.
As you can see, immigrants go through so much compared to a legal citizens. They have many scares and sacrifices when relocating to a new country. Many don’t have the same rights and opportunities like born and raised citizens of a certain country. Limits like deportation can break up a family or have a life-changing effect.
Struggles of an Illegal Immigrant
Did you know asylum is better known among immigrants and refugees? To many of them, asylum is a “safe place” or refuge. Individuals are made of different characteristics. These characteristics can span from race, gender, religion, class and citizenship. Although these characteristics make them “different”, research shows that we all have common denominators.
Recently, I spoke with a family member of an immigrant. This individual took their time and gave me a chance to understand what an immigrant’s lifestyle is really about. To understand an immigrant’s lifestyle is very complex and fascinating to comprehend as a different perspective of life. You get the opportunity to basically step into someone else’s footsteps and imagine the struggles for relocation.
The sit down interview began with a series of questions that explained what the immigrant has gone through over the course of time. As an interviewer, I asked questions that would be very beneficial to be known, while not overstepping boundaries of invading one’s privacy. The information given is very worthy and important to understand as a nonimmigrant. The interview below will be shown through a Q&A.
Q: Are they an immigrant or refugee?
A: Immigrant.
Q: Where is the immigrant from?
A: Guerrero, Mexico.
Q: Why did they come to the U.S.?
A: To get a better life for their family.
Q: What obstacles did they come across?
A: They had to obtain a VISA to come to the United States. Following this, they moved to Dallas, TX where they held a job as a bartender for 10 years. Then decided to move to Nashville, TN after receiving a job opportunity in construction.
Q: What caused the immigrant to relocate from the U.S.?
A: Unfortunately, the immigrant ran into some legal trouble.
Q: Was there any possible way of stopping the deportation?
A: Legal family members over 21 could get the immigrant papers to stay in the United States.
Q: How did the immigrant’s family feel when they knew the immigrant was getting deported?
A: The family felt very sad and upset because the immigrant was going to leave, but also mad because in the process of getting papers, the immigrant was already being deported. They were all in the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, where the news was being shared. The family was there to show support and concern.
Q: Do you remember anything being said at the time of the deportation?
A: The spouse of the immigrant was very shocked and screamed, “No, no, don’t take him!”
Q: Did you know that deportation was in the immigrant’s future?
A: Yes, because of the lifestyle they were living.
Q: Can you tell the time of how the deportation was set?
A: In February 2016, the immigrant had gotten arrested in Louisiana, then 6 months later was deported back to Guerrero, Mexico. After being in their home country, the immigrant came back to the U.S. and resided in Houston, TX, then moved to Nashville, TN to continue their life with their family.
Q: How did the immigrant feel during the deportation?
A: The immigrant felt very depressed and thought mainly about coming back to the United States to their family.
Q: Has the immigrant’s lifestyle changed after the deportation?
A: Yes, they have stopped their bad habits and have continued to work legally in construction.
Q: Lastly, what do you believe the immigrant wanted in the long run of being in the U.S.?
A: Happiness and to maintain a better life with their family.
As you can see, immigrants go through so much compared to a legal citizens. They have many scares and sacrifices when relocating to a new country. Many don’t have the same rights and opportunities like born and raised citizens of a certain country. Limits like deportation can break up a family or have a life-changing effect.
![Picture](/uploads/1/0/1/2/101294864/published/5994925c96c65cf265d964053ec4c541.png?1489542298)
Laura Campos
Seeking Asylum
“On most days I fear I won’t be here anymore (United States). I feel like I have the right to be safe as well as everybody else in this country."
The person I interviewed didn’t want to be identified, however, as any immigrant/refugee, he had a very strong opinion as to why people come to this country, whether it’s to seek asylum or to have a better life overall.
“People seem to just have the same opinions on every immigrant: they take our jobs, they don’t belong here, they’re a bad influence on our country, etc. It’s just not fair”
The person I interviewed is from El Salvador, he came to America to be safe.
“You see people getting robbed at gunpoint, jumped, beaten, or shot and most of the time it’s for no reason. Wouldn’t you want to get away and seek a better life? If you’ve seen and been through what I have?"
There are over 60 million people in the US that are immigrants/ refugees, nearly 1 in 100 people. Every immigrant has their own story as to why they moved to a completely new country where their morals and culture will be challenged.
“Living over here has changed my lifestyle in many ways. It’s safer and quieter. I can sleep through the night, and I have an easier lifestyle. Living here is easier, but not too easy. I still have to learn a new language. I have to learn to accept the fact I don’t have the same opportunities American-born citizens have.”
Seeking Asylum
“On most days I fear I won’t be here anymore (United States). I feel like I have the right to be safe as well as everybody else in this country."
The person I interviewed didn’t want to be identified, however, as any immigrant/refugee, he had a very strong opinion as to why people come to this country, whether it’s to seek asylum or to have a better life overall.
“People seem to just have the same opinions on every immigrant: they take our jobs, they don’t belong here, they’re a bad influence on our country, etc. It’s just not fair”
The person I interviewed is from El Salvador, he came to America to be safe.
“You see people getting robbed at gunpoint, jumped, beaten, or shot and most of the time it’s for no reason. Wouldn’t you want to get away and seek a better life? If you’ve seen and been through what I have?"
There are over 60 million people in the US that are immigrants/ refugees, nearly 1 in 100 people. Every immigrant has their own story as to why they moved to a completely new country where their morals and culture will be challenged.
“Living over here has changed my lifestyle in many ways. It’s safer and quieter. I can sleep through the night, and I have an easier lifestyle. Living here is easier, but not too easy. I still have to learn a new language. I have to learn to accept the fact I don’t have the same opportunities American-born citizens have.”
Mervana Labib
My Move To The United States I lived in Egypt for my first 9 years. I went to school there and I was grown enough to know how to talk, read, and write in Arabic. Leaving my country and where I've grown up around my family was really difficult. My family and I left our big house where all my family lived and decided to come here for better education for my siblings and I. Even though my parents know Egypt is where they spent their whole life and that's their home, they still wanted to give that up for us to come here and grow up and have a better life. Traveling to the United States was hard and really boring to me. Our airplanes were long and we were confused most of the time on where we were supposed to go or what to do. We arrived here on March 16, 2009. My uncle and his family were already waiting for us at the airport. We got to his apartments afterwards. My uncle didn't have a big family they only had 2 small kids, so they only had 3 bedrooms. We were still a lot my family were 6 so we had to work it out and stay with them because it was our only choice. Getting in touch with my family in Egypt after I came here would hurt me so much. I would cry so much and think about why I had to leave home and everyone I liked and come here. It was spring break when I came here. My first day at school after spring break I was lost. I didn't understand a word anyone was saying around me. I went inside class and found out that there is a lot of other Egyptians here as well, I wasn't as lost when I met them honestly. There was a girl name Youstina that helped me with understanding English. I had a lot of hard time at school, I hated the fact I can't understand what the teacher was saying. I was used to understanding everything in Egypt. I was very smart and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to be as smart here. I didn't stay in school much it was only 2 months and it passed fast I made a lot of friends day by day. My dad already had a nice job so that helped us a lot. My mom didn't work at all. One problem we faced was my older sister. We had a hard time getting her papers from Egypt saying that she's done with high school. They wanted her to repeat high school again. She went one day and thank god we received the papers and she applied for college. We got our own apartment and left our uncles. It was summer and I loved it here. I had amazing friends and I loved how I was living here it was so much different than Egypt. After all I think our move here was a success. We made a lot of changes. We all learned English and we all found close people to us. Now I communicate with anyone and am not afraid of not understanding what their saying anymore. |
Reta Manasa
The Land of Opportunities My parents have made a lot of sacrifices for me and my siblings. My parents emigrated from Cairo, Egypt to Tennessee in 2007, I was about seven years old. We left our land and house to my grandparents who still live in it now. We had to come here with parents who didn’t speak English. So, we had to learn the language on our own. We had relatives here that helped us overcome some of our struggles, but the rest we had to do on our own. My dad always says that the U.S. is an interesting country because it allows you to do what you want. After all, this is the land of opportunities. All he wanted was for me and my sisters to have a better life and education. Like everybody, my parents came into this country to seek for a better life and to provide me with a better quality of education and to make sure I had everything I could possibly need. I knew I had no future in Egypt due to extreme corruption and broken education for which you can pay through. I feel like my parents made the right choice for us to come here. Now, I have more opportunities to do the things I love which include: traveling, learning new things, and meeting new people who inspire me. My father worked as a butcher and my mother used to be a stay home mom. I am the oldest of all my siblings and therefore, the leader. I had to set an example for the younger ones and had to take care of them from the dangers of the world. After couple of years later more family members started to come, more like chain migration now. They arrived legally on a tourist visa and applied for an asylum 3 months after that. They really hoped they could get through the process and at the end they would be granted a US citizenship. We tried to help, but the process was difficult. What I mean is the way of life is not easy for some people, because everything is about money. We have to pay for everything. For immigrants it is not easy to adopt the culture and the way that people behave. My experiences as an immigrant child growing up in the US helped me gain an appreciation for the gift of life. I appreciate being an American citizen, and I value every right I have. |