Benita Veliz is a Hispanic-origin immigrant in the United States who is faced with the possibility of deportation. She is a 23-year-old graduate working in a Church Office who arrived on a tourist visa to the US at the time when she was 8. At 16, she graduated from Jefferson High and attended College at San Antonio at St. Mary’s University. Recently, she found out that despite knowing no other country since she was a child, she has little chance of avoiding expulsion, as she had no spouse, parent or child who could petition on her behalf.
The writer of the article (Downes, 2009) highly endorses Ms Veliz’s case and endorses the Dream Act that allows illegal immigrant children to be able to become US Citizens if they served in the military or attended college. She makes an emotional case for the Act and strongly believes that young, dedicated people like Benita should be allowed to assimilate rather than expelled, as she is not at fault for her status. She is neither socially undesirable nor a criminal to deserve deportation. The policymakers should be kinder and smarter and find a way to let people like Veliz not only stay but be accepted as Americans.
Despite the writer’s favour for Ms Veliz to stay, it is true that she was an undocumented immigrant who had been staying illegally in the US. However, while studying the article, I cannot help but sympathize with thousands of other people like Veliz who have no other country to be their home. Furthermore, it is hardworking people like her who contribute to this country and believe in its ideals who deserve to be rewarded for it. I feel that Acts that allow people like Veliz to become citizens should be enforced, and law enforcement should not profile people on the basis of their race. It is possible that Bills get passed in the future that allow people like Veliz to stay, but with people like Trump in power with anti-immigrant biases, it is possible that they come up with some other ways to restrict people like Veliz from entering.
Works Cited
Downes, L., 2009. Don’t Deport Benita Veliz. [Online]
Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/28/opinion/28sat4.html
[Accessed 3 April 2018].
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