Everyday Politics

I’ve seen emigration procedures a lot, especially being an immigrant that grew up needing to renovate my status and living in a city where there’s a huge mix of cultures and people from all over the world. A lot of people I know or hear about are trying to navigate the system to get their immigrant status sorted out so they can live and work here in the States legally. It’s a big deal, you know? People want to follow legal steps and laws, but at the same time it’s very hard because of how long and stressful the wait can be. It takes time to renovate your immigrant status. There’s paperwork, appointments and waiting for responses. Sometimes it is very tough because when you come from another country illegally and start school when you’re little in a new place all your parents can think about how they need to legalize your status so when you grow up you will be able to attend college. That’s exactly what my situation was as I was growing up. My mother’s goal was to legalize my sister and i so we could be able to grow up with the best education and be able to work as well. There are many times where people are not able to work because of their immigration status which is very hard to support their household. Growing up in New York City and attending appointments where I had to renew my immigration status was very hard watching people get stressed and sad over time. There are a lot of times where people have gotten denied a legal status which is heart broken because most of the time people truly want to work and do the best for their households. In order to be treated as a true American, for some people you need to be a true citizen. For me, as a resident and someone who has forgotten her native language as a child and re-learning it, I have considered myself a citizen though I have a few months until I truly turn into one. I believe the country we all live in is a country made of immigrants because we hear and see someone from a different country everywhere you walk. Many times I would also see people getting treated less than what they are just because of their immigration status which I believe is something very horrible because there are times where someone can have an amazing career and amazing contributions in their country and get treated here less just because of being an immigrant. Immigration procedures are something I experienced my whole life and something I can say about it is that it is very expensive. There are many people who can not afford them and just wont follow the legal steps. I believe that when you follow immigration procedures there are many things to learn and many things to talk about when it comes to it such as the stress of the people, their luck, and lastly their pockets.