By Marcos Duran-Salcedo Posted February 6, 2013
Many people say that we should deport illegal Latino immigrants, but in my opinion, they should stay. Immigrants are the soul of America. The colonists were immigrants themselves. The majority of the country are immigrants or descendants of immigrants. Many ask, “Why did they come here?” For a better life, or the “American Dream” if you will.
The majority of immigrants (70 percent to be exact), like me and my family, are legal, but there is still the 30 percent who are illegal. Both came in here for a better life and a job. Legals find what they are looking for, illegals, not as often.
Most of the illegal immigrants also do our “undesirable” jobs, like gardening care, farming, and working overtime where they can. A rich man once said, “Immigrants should go back to where they came from,” as illegal immigrants were cleaning his house and pruning his trees.
Many people say that many illegal immigrants take jobs from hardworking American citizens, but “hard-working” Americans don’t want to mow lawns or take care of a house. That’s probably why we see illegal immigrants doing those things, even though many are deported each year.
A big amount of families are torn apart by deportation. Sometimes, the parents are illegal, but their children are legal since they were born here. Heartbroken children stay while the people that brought them into this world go back to the country they so desperately wanted to leave. Since the Arizona anti-immigration law, 40,000 more people were sent back.
People who want illegal immigrants to go, like Governor Jan Brewer, say that they are lazy and that they came here “because they didn’t have anything better to do.” They judge an entire race based on what few immigrants are like.
On January 29, President Obama presented a well-received immigration reform plan at Del Sol, a majority Latino high school in Las Vegas. “Now’s the time to move on immigration,” said Obama. Illegal immigrants would have to pass a background check, pay a fine and back taxes, learn English and wait until every person who applied for permanent status through legal channels has had their application processed. If his immigration reform is passed, then the U.S. would have a stronger working force.
Most came here for a better life. Who are we citizens to deny them the life they worked so much for?
