Sometimes, fear can be fun. People play horror games, watch movies, and go to haunted houses, but they do this knowing it’s not real.
That’s not what millions across this country are feeling right now. The fear they have is not because of what they’ve done, but of what they don’t know. This fear is rooted in uncertainty, and they didn’t choose it.
Recent federal government actions have sparked anxiety across the country. Immigrants, the foundation of the United States, don’t know what’s coming next.
I know I’m lucky compared to many. I was born in the US, giving me citizenship. My family has gone through the entire legal immigration process. On paper, we should be treated as documented residents, right?
I was sitting in a restaurant in Florida on Jan. 20, scrolling through CNN on my phone while the TV in the restaurant replayed a clip of Trump’s inauguration speech. What started as a peaceful family lunch turned into a hushed political conversation, spoken in our native language.
I had come across an article about the government planning to get rid of birthright citizenship. It made me think of a situation I had never even considered: could I lose my American citizenship?
Millions are asking even scarier questions. Millions are here with no citizenship and the danger of getting their papers taken without explanation and with no due process. Millions are at risk of having their entire lives turned around.
Undocumented families have felt this fear for decades, but now it is spreading to legal, law-abiding residents. Every immigrant is at risk. Even college students and professors are getting deported. Duke University recently advised its foreign students and faculty to not travel internationally, even with documents.
Our school is not immune. Riverside students have been deported before. The news right now isn’t just headlines about something that is happening across the country. It’s affecting students and friends in our community who live the American life.
Today, more than two thirds of DPS students speak a language other than English at home. If university graduate students are getting deported, what protection do our classmates have? What protection does our community have?
This uncertainty is not something the community deserves. The American dream is becoming a nightmare.
