A Summer Analyzing Immigration Comes to a Close

As this summer slowly bids ado to millions of students around the world, the topic on every child's mind is about the upcoming school year. Concerns over classes, friends, and even arbitrary things like the perfect outfit to wear have been floating through the mind's of youth all over for the past few weeks. These petty concerns are the last thing on the mind of immigrants beginning school this year. In the past year, over 60,000 unaccompanied youth have entered the United States, most of which will join the American education system this year as well. The worries these upcoming students face are a trifle more frightening than walking into the wrong class on the first day. Say for example, not having parents to come home to, not speaking the language, and even never having an education in their lifetime. Talk about a reason for anxiety.

A chart describing the cities across the U.S. facing the highest net total migration.
Courtesy of citylab.com

A report on MSNBC's NewsNation with USA Today Columnist and attorney Raul Reyes discussed the issues immigrant children across the country will be facing this school year. As there has been a massive influx of children immigrating to the United States, many states are preparing larger classroom sizes and higher education budgets for this school year. This all stems from the fact that any American child, regardless of immigration status, is entitled to a free public education according to federal law. So this means that upwards of 50,000 children will be entering the school system this year, impacting classes across the country.

Raul Reyes pointed out that besides acculturating and assimilating to the American education system that many migrant students will have barely begun to do the same in their homes. Reyes stated that not only will these students need an education, they will also require counseling, social support, and even mental health services due to the chaos they faced coming to the United States. This is an additional ton of stress placed onto their shoulders as they begin the school year this fall.

In The Distance Between Us, Reyna Grande wasn't educated until she was about ten years old. In Mexico she learned the basics of living, but nothing like a true school could teach her. In Iguala it was very rare for children to go to school unless they were from highly affluent families. Since Reyna and her siblings were nothing of the sort, they didn't get an education until they arrived in the United States in 1985. Like the children coming from Honduras and other Central American countries with poor education systems, assimilating into the daily routine of schooling was no easy task for Reyna and her siblings. Reyna's name was changed on her first day of school from Reyna Grande Rodriguez to simply Reyna Grande, a simple alteration that began her acculturation. Her sister Mago even began calling herself Maggie as it was easier for the teachers and students to pronounce. In order to become a part of the system, they had to give up small things that made them special in Mexico.

The process of acculturation
Courtesy of hispanic-marketing

Acculturation is one of the longest processes immigrants face once entering a new country. Once you enter a country it seems as if the culture is thrust upon you, either you catch on immediately or you eventually pick it up. For immigrants, the transition can be shorter than desired. By having to cross language barriers, economic differences, and ethnic characteristics many give up their previous culture in order to become one of the country they now reside. Whether it be simple things like last names in Reyna's case, or larger alterations like they way one dresses, assimilation often has immigrants leaving behind their culture for something new. Children coming into the country in the past year have to face the stress of finding their identity in a new country as well as finding a sense of belonging at school, which is often an unheard of system for them as well.

Many of the children coming into the United States at the moment are coming from countries with poor to no public education what so ever. According to the report on NewsNation, thousands of immigrants have come from Honduras, a country that the UN reports has the lowest ranking education in Central American countries. Yet, the integration of immigrants hasn't been a problem before in the school system, especially in states like California, New York, Florida, and Texas. These states have seen immigrants coming from all over the world in the last fifty years joining the school system.

As a student currently enrolled in federally required public school, it's easy to see the difficulties it takes to join public school. The city I live in is fairly affluent and advanced, so we have wonderful programs that help children become the best and brightest they can be. Every year there are new students, especially Hispanic newcomers to the school. This is no surprise, living in Utah immigrants find their way to my home state often. It's not hard to notice those who fall behind because of the language barrier, no matter how hard English learning programs try to enforce the language. It's an interesting predicament because the students can see the elephant in the room, but we tend to avoid it. That's where the stereotypes and lower pathways spurt from, avoiding the situation at hand.

Courtesy of thelifedivine

Although thousands of students must acculturate to the new society they'll be living in, we cannot have a stigma about these newcomers. It's important to help the modern immigrants of today into our society, whether they choose to assimilate or not. Many are fleeing violence, drugs, economic insecurity, and are just hoping for a better life in the lovely country many of us take for granted. Like our ancestors who immigrated here, the modern immigrant comes with a dream. These dreams are to be taken seriously, and never sidetracked just because of their status. Stigmas, bias, and stereotyping has only led us so far, and no one wants to find themselves on the wrong side of history years later. Perhaps my series has made you change your perspective on immigration, because it sure has altered mine.

We are all humans, and we are all dreamers, and that should be reason enough to let anyone achieve their dreams regardless of the status of their citizenship.