Thread: Walk In Their Shoes

http://www.collegiatetimes.com/news/1/A ... 09-29.html

Walk In Their Shoes


September 29th, 2006

Katie Reineberg, CT Staff Writer

With all of the media attention over tightening immigration laws in the United States, last night’s event, “Walk in their Shoes,” was a refreshing change of perspective for the small group of students who turned up despite the rain.

The night featured two immigrant speakers, both of whom are students of Virginia Tech, who shared the family stories of their immigration and trying to find their place in a new home.

The first speaker of the night, sophomore biology major Judicita Condezo, is a first generation Peruvian. Her story involves her parents’ struggle to get into the United States and the hardships they have had to overcome to survive life here.

“My mother was able to come to the U.S. through her mother, my grandmother, but it took my father three tries before he finally made it to the country illegally,” said Condezo. “It is the goal of many immigrants to bring their families to this country.”

Despite the options for legal immigration to the United States, illegal border crossing still occurs daily.

“I’ve heard a lot of people say (in regards to immigration) ‘why don’t people just do it the legal way,’ but it’s not that easy. There are political implications and a lot of it has to do with money,” said Condezo.

The event was held in honor of Hispanic-Latino Heritage Month and was hosted by Latin Link President Amelia Casteneda, who planned the night because “(she) feels that too many people don’t understand the perspective of the immigrants. They only see us as people who are coming into ‘their’ country, but they don’t know our stories.”

When Casteneda shared her family’s story, she made a point to emphasize the problems with the time it takes to legally immigrate to the United States.

“Legal immigration is very hard and it takes time,” said Casteneda. “You have to understand that a lot of people that are in bad conditions in their own countries and don’t have the things they need to provide for their families, or the time to wait for a reply from the U.S., so they result to coming here illegally.”

Casteneda’s parents both immigrated to the U.S. illegally before she was born, so she has always been a citizen by birth. However, when she and her mother returned to her ancestral home of Mexico, her mother and younger sister (who was born in Mexico) had to essentially be smuggled back into the U.S. by a Coyote – someone who helps immigrants cross the border with false papers.

Aside from the immigration journey itself, by far one of the biggest hardships of coming to a new country is holding on to one’s own culture: while job opportunities are relatively few, prejudice is not uncommon. Immigrant workers are in competition with many people who already have an advantage over them because they speak the language and know the culture of the United States.

Over the past few months, the US government has been working to tighten border control and cracking down on illegal immigration. As the New York Times reported September 25, the “House and Senate negotiators agreed Monday evening to spend $1.2 billion to install hundreds of miles of fence and vehicle barriers along the Mexican border as part of a $34.8 billion spending plan for the Department of Homeland Security for the coming year.”

“It doesn’t matter what the government puts up, people are still going to risk their lives to try to come,” said Casteneda. “This has been going on for so long that fences aren’t going to stop anyone; they will just find ways around them. I think it is just ignorant (of the US government) to be spending money on border patrol when they could be using the money for something like improving the legalization process.”

“Legal immigration is very hard and it takes time,” said Casteneda. “You have to understand that a lot of people that are in bad conditions in their own countries and don’t have the things they need to provide for their families, or the time to wait for a reply from the U.S., so they result to coming here illegally.

They should stay home and fix their own Counrty..then the won't have to suffer all the hardship that they complain about..

“Legal immigration is very hard and it takes time,” said Casteneda. “You have to understand that a lot of people that are in bad conditions in their own countries and don’t have the things they need to provide for their families, or the time to wait for a reply from the U.S., so they result to coming here illegally.”

There are obviously alot of illegals that enter this country illegally because they being a criminal or a gang member in their country would not be accepted to enter this country legally,also.

Aside from the immigration journey itself, by far one of the biggest hardships of coming to a new country is holding on to one’s own culture:

Part of comming here is giving up some of your old culture to be a part of a new one. If the old culture was so good you wouldn't be running away from it. What you celebrate or how you celebrate things in your culture might not be acceptable here. This isn't your culture it's Americas culture and we don't like or accept or beleive in alot of things other cultures do. It's not your right to change this culture to your old one. It's your job to fit into this one.

Crap!!

They would stay home if there were no jobs here for them!! We need to stop making this country so attractive to them i.e. free health care, no taxes, free schooling and the list goes on.

Let's start punishing the employers who hire them. Maybe use the three strike concept with the last strike having the CEO's during prison time.

I say no more hand outs. We can start at the local level within our cities, counties and work it up to the national level. And enforce the laws we already have on the books.

How hard is this??

I've always heard this the the NOW generation (give it to me NOW!). I guess that applies throughout the world. To that I say, anything worth doing is worth doing right or anything worth having is worth working for.

"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's."

Do illegal immigrants observe and follow the Ten Commandment?

I will walk in my own shoes, thank you very much!

They can walk there shoes back to the country they belong in.