A Nation Afraid of its Origins

            Immigration has always been a key issue of the United States, since Christopher Colombus first “discovered” the New World. Whether the targets have been the Irish, the Chinese, or in recent years the Latino population, many US citizens has a habit of being either tolerant of immigrants or are prejudiced against the different cultures, especially during times of hardships, (i.e. the Great Depression, the recent economic recession, etc.). This isn’t to say all of the US is against immigration, but there are enough of them to create tension amongst different people. Many political figures, such as Senator Ted Cruz, have gone out of their way to prove how bad of an idea it is for positive immigration form, which is very contradictory since he himself is not only Hispanic, but is an immigrant from Canada. Issues with immigration have gotten to a point that political correction becomes a shrewd concept to look at. For example, junior year of high school, I needed to write an informational essay on a family member of mine that had immigrated to the United States. I chose one of my grandfathers, Florencio “Lencho” Puentes, who had immigrated from Juárez, Mexico. During the interview, I had asked him about his life in Mexico and why he eventually decided to come to America. He stopped me immediately, with the sternest look I’ve ever received from him. He told me he never decided to come to America, he had always been in America. Mexico is located in North America, so Mexicans and Canadians are also American. He decided to come to the United States in 1942. This got me thinking of how quick we in the United States often consider ourselves only Americans and how America, or “‘Murica”, is the greatest country in the world, when in fact we often never include other countries that are also a part of the Americas. Many people go against immigration because of all of the “illegal aliens” that have entered this country, but let us not forget that our grand country we love so dearly was in fact founded by “illegal aliens.” The reason why our society is so great and diverse is because of all of the immigrants from across the globe that come here searching for better lives. People often wonder why there are so many Latinos here, but they often seem to forget that Mexicans have been here long before the United States expanded into the country we know today. The US “won” the majority of the West and Southwest region from Mexico after the Spanish-American War. Why else would there be cities named San José, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Diego, etc.? The cultural influence that stems from all immigrant groups gives our society more diversity and this mix establishes a great social ecosystem that we all live in. Immigration reforms was a big topic last year when President Barak Obama issued an executive order allowing temporary legal status to millions of immigrants. While many conservatives were against this notion, they don’t understand all the families that are now able to be kept together. Immigration is a crucial part of our culture and our goal shouldn’t be to separate us from them, but to unite.