Deleny Leon DB 6

Describe one identity that you have that you are most proud of and explain why. Describe also one identity that you either are not proud of, or struggle with. Explain why you are not proud of this identity or why you struggle with it.

• One identity I am most proud of is how I am an American because I can accurately communicate with others who are American and I do enjoy how diverse my country is and the food within it. Also, how I am able to enjoy reading the multiple books offered to me in English which I can read. While this doesn’t seem much, it is a lot to me as it connects to why I tend to struggle with my other identity as a Mexican-American with Hispanic descendance who is within the Latino community. This identity is something I struggle with because, simply, I have not mastered Spanish and still struggle with writing it and learning its vocabulary and grammar. This is the number one thing I hate and struggle with compared to the fact that I do prefer Mexican and Dominican food over American food and snacks. If it weren’t for this language barrier, I would have felt proud to identify myself as a Mexican-American with Dominican descendance.

After reading the article “The Potential and Promise of Latino Students” discuss one new thing you learned about the Latino population. Be specific and explain your thoughts and reactions regarding what you read and learned.

• In regards to the article, “The Potential and Promise of Latino Students”, by Patricia Gȧndera, one thing I have learned about the Latino population was the influence the U.S.’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy had on them. DACA was announced in 2012 and signed as an executive order by President Obama. It was meant to postpone the deportation of undocumented immigrants, but only if they met certain requirements. For eligibility, the immigrants must have entered the U.S. before turning 16 and lived continuously in the country for at least five years. Also, they must have attended or graduated from a U.S. high school or served in the military and must not have been convicted of a felony or certain misdemeanor. After meeting all of these requirements, producing certifying documents, and paying an application fee of $495, immigrants were able to postpone their deportation and receive a work permit for a two-year, renewable period. For many undocumented immigrants, this was a great policy to stay within the U.S. compared to the declaration made by the Supreme Court in the 1982 Plyler v. Doe which declared that undocumented immigrant children could be deported after high school  until DACA started. Most importantly, DACA could prevent U.S. citizen youth from being forced to live in Mexico due to deportation and the economic circumstances surrounding their family and forcing them back to Mexico. This situation causing  up to “500,000 U.S.-citizen youth”, according to estimates as stated by Patricia Gȧndera, to follow a new curricula which requires Mexican students to be able to speak, write, and read in Spanish which can cause a lot of pressure and stress on youth and be strengthened by how hard it is for U.S. citizen youth to receive credit for the classes they already took in the U.S. While these facts may seem great, they do not mention the cons with DACA and its impact on the Latino population. For instance, the high cost of the application fee for DACA ($495) has caused many eligible young Latinos to not apply as not only do some of them live in poverty, but they may have certain family circumstances in which more than one application fee may need to be paid. Also, the fear of family information being accessible to immigration services has prompted many eligible immigrants to not apply along with the fact that the permit could expire and be revoked, especially, under a new administration which does not agree with the possibility. The once undocumented immigrants with permits having no way to work legally within the U.S. as their permit has expired and require another application fee or their permit has been revoked and their money to pay for the fee has gone to waste. In my opinion, I believe the introduction of the DACA policy was useless as it was only temporary for two years which is not enough time, in my opinion, for an undocumented immigrant family or people to be financially stable. Also, I cannot think of why the application fee for DACA permits would be as high as $495 as some undocumented immigrants are coming into the country with money that sometimes are not valued high when exchanging for American money. This difference in the value of money in each country was something I realized when I was little and saw the large amount of money my parents got when exchanging American money for Mexican and Dominican money. Aside from this, my other issue is that if the application fee is this high and DACA has a lot of requirements, wouldn’t it make sense for undocumented immigrants to gain citizenship? Especially, if the undocumented immigrants lived in the U.S. for at least five years and received an education here and served in the military while producing documents to certify all this information. Talking in the perspective of the child of a former undocumented immigrant, these concerns over money and lack of elaboration on what to do when a permit expires are why my mother immediately pushed my father to become a U.S. citizen after he met the requirements to, instead of gaining a permit and possibly having to leave the U.S. Overall, I believe the U.S. requires a revision of their immigrant policies such as DACA and its requirements to better benefit undocumented immigrants and validate their eligibility to remain in the U.S., instead of allowing the defer of deportation for two years only and allowing all undocumented immigrants who enter the country to become U.S. citizens immediately due to the lack of proper preparation of what comes next once remaining within the country without enough knowledge of its policies compared to when you remain in it for a few years and have developed enough knowledge to handle certain policies that may effect you. 

Choose one of the videos assigned this week. What is the main argument of the video? What reasons are used to support the argument? What are your personal thoughts and reactions to what was presented in the video?

• Based on the video,“Defining Latino: Young People Talk Identity, Belonging”, produced by NBC News, the main argument of this video is to fight against prejudice and stereotypes when it comes to the Latino population. This argument is supported by the Pew Research Center which states, “Latinos are one of the largest and fastest-growing youth populations in the country.” With this excerpt in mind, it is clear that, in the eyes of the Latino population, if there are many Latinos already within the U.S. and more are immigrating and being born in the U.S., then there should be no reason for discrimination, prejudice, or stereotypes as the U.S. is, at this point, already very mixed. Another way the argument of this video is supported by the experiences of each individual within the U.S. as a part of the Latino population. For instance, when Leyanis Diaz explains how she felt, in the following statement, about her background and race while growing up, “I was too black to be Latina and too Latina to be black.” This statement shows how there are issues concerning what a Latino is meant to look, especially, based on where their parents, family, or themselves derive from in which, in the case of Leyanis Diaz, she was the odd one out and did not fit the image in the mind of her community. The argument against prejudice and stereotypes is further supported by how the people within this video were expected to speak English, instead of Spanish because they are within the U.S. This experience can be seen with Gina Rodriguez who grew up having to speak English and not embrace the opportunity to learn Spanish as her parents feared she would be discriminated against as they were. This showcases how prejudice has and does exist in certain places when it comes to the idea of English needing to be the primary language of all U.S. citizens. Also, in the case of Gina Rodriguez, ironically, her not learning Spanish caused her to face discrimination from the Latino community and those from the country her family derives from. This is something I was surprised to hear, but understand and relate to as I couldn’t speak Spanish really growing up because my parents and family didn’t really help me pick up Spanish, but more English. This has caused me to feel embarrassed when visiting my family in Mexico and the Dominican Republic as I couldn’t really communicate with them and they found it very odd. This embarrassment caused me to stay quiet when around my grandparents and aunts and uncles who had expected me to learn Spanish growing up. As a result, I never felt like I belong to my culture truly, except when it came to food and I found a way to better work on learning Spanish today. Overall, there is a lot to the Latino population and what they experience from prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination when it comes to their race, identity, and language which can cause many Latinos to feel that they do not belong to their community when they do not meet the criteria within it.