American History and Immigration by Ariel

American History and Immigration by Ariel - August 2017 Scholarship Essay

If you were a college professor, what would you teach and why?

In today’s political climate, it seems as though we are stepping farther away from our roots as a nation of vibrancy, rich diversity of culture, and patriotism. Many are scared of the unknown, rightly scared of violence and crime that is taking place both domestically and abroad, and unsure of how to fix the current issues we face. Unfortunately, instead of uniting as a country and forming a common front against adversaries, we are internally conflicted, warring within ourselves. In light of this unease, If I were a college professor, it would give me great pleasure to teach United States History and political theory, particularly that of immigration.
The primary and most compelling reason for me to choose this topic is my own experience with the immigration process in the United States. My husband is from Honduras and came here as an undocumented immigrant when he was younger. He came out of fear and the need to provide for himself and escape a country rife with gang violence, government corruption, and a high unemployment rate. When we discussed this for the first time, I came to understand his perspective while also knowing that it was very necessary to rectify the decision to come without documents. It took us 5 years to complete what was supposed to be a year and a half long process, that involved many fees, petitions, and an out of country stay. We were very unfortunate to have poor and predatory legal representation but very fortunate that the USCIS and US Embassy in Honduras treated Pedro with respect and dignity and fulfilled their part of the immigration process gladly. I would like to share with others the story we have, how even though we tried to “do the right thing” and complete the legal process of fixing an error he made many years before, we were met with government shut downs, delays in filing, lost money orders, unscrupulous legal dealings, and an overwhelmingly negative reaction to our story. The people who come here are human beings and some come to abuse our system and commit crimes (just like anywhere else) but many more come to escape persecution, violence, and to keep their children safe. We would all do the same for our families, even if the laws dictated otherwise.
I’d also love to teach this class because I live in a rural area filled with kind and loving people who don’t have much experience with ‘otherness’. Sometimes, I will have a conversation with an otherwise lovely coworker, only for them to drop a racial slur or say something incredibly offensive about others. I’d love for us as a nation to turn this trend around by looking back to where our ancestors originated, what their immigration process was, and how everything from ‘American’ food to our education system to the foundations of charity in this country were borrowed from or heavily influenced by people from different countries and backgrounds.
Our nation is torn in a way I haven’t seen in my entire life. Many are angry with minority and immigrant groups or angry with rural Conservative Americans because they think they know their background, beliefs, and biases. If we all stopped and considered where we came from, what progress we have made socially, and what makes us who we are, I think we would be more inclined to listen to others, actually discuss differences instead of just assuming, and start to unite as a nation. This class on American History and immigration would truly make a huge difference in our social and political climate. Perhaps students would be able to reconsider what it means to be American and what it means for America to be great, and to acknowledge the contributions others have made to make this country what it is. It would be a beautiful thing if we started to come together to fix our problems instead of blaming the other and refusing to critically think about the roots of our issues.