I am a first generation immigrant, meaning that my parents migrated to this country and I am the first generation to be born within it. The word immigrant does not define me. Instead it has played a part in shaping who I have become. My parents constantly tell me of how much they struggled back at home in Peru and the poverty they lived in. Determined to leave that life behind them, they boarded a plane to America twenty years ago and have built a whole new life, for their family and for themselves, from essentially nothing.

Fast forwarding to present day, my family lives in a suburban community, my parents have well paying jobs, and they have raised me on the ideals that anything is attainable through perseverance and a positive attitude. Following that ideology I have always known that excelling in school would be the gateway to achieving everything that I wanted to and repaying my parents for all the sacrifices they have made for my well-being. I will be continuing on with my education at college.

However, receiving a higher education is an opportunity many illegal immigrants are denied. In 2001, the DREAM act was proposed to the senate, which would allow illegal immigrants permanent residency so long as they adhered to certain regulations such as having to graduate from a two-year community college or complete two years of a four year degree. This bill could provide a better future not just for these individuals but could also better the world. Denying someone the right to an education is not morally right in my opinion. I know people with incredible potential who’ve been deprived of the same opportunities I was given, solely based on their immigrant status.

In order to keep true to what I believe to be morally correct, I have previously participated in demonstrations in favor of the DREAM act and for a leniency on immigration. The people who come into this country are not all “Mexicans hopping the border,” they are other human beings who are trying to come into this country in order to secure a better life and a better future for themselves and for their families. The notion that they are coming into the country with bad motives is untrue for a great majority of them.

What they are doing is leaving their home, possibly crossing an ocean, to an unfamiliar place with limited knowledge about it. It is not something they should be ashamed of or be ridiculed by with names like “Fob.” It is an act that takes tremendous courage, which many people do not have.

Being recognized as an immigrant usually has a negative connotation because they are viewed as being different and being an untrue “American,” but in reality there is no single definition of being an “American.” The beauty of this country is that there is a mix of different races, ethnicity, and histories that should not be forgotten or overlooked. The reason behind the controversy of illegal immigration to this country is that supposedly the illegal immigrants do not pay taxes, they take away jobs from those who are in the country legally, and that they are a burden to the U.S. national economy. Actually, the illegal immigrants do pay some form of taxes, immigrant entrepreneurs help create new jobs, and by working in unwanted positions they help bolster the economy.

We all originated from immigrants, so it is not something that should be discriminated against.