Who is America?

America is a nation driven by success. America is a capitalist country. America finds power in wealth, abundance, and fear.

America has two opposite camps of believers, those that believe in excluding the unknown. They believe that America has a shortage problem, limited resources and space. Ultimately, their limiting beliefs impacts their thinking of themselves, that they too are limited in their own abilities. They believe that they cannot compete with the “other” entering the United States, and so they keep that story strong by focusing on all the reasons why the “other” needs to be excluded.

They focus on fear and fear debilitates a clear understanding. They fear what looks different, what they cannot understand. They use fear to feed their ego and to justify why fear should equal danger. They revel in anger when they see #Latinx succeed. Our success shows them that there is no reason to fear us at all. That we are alike more than we are different. I used to think that by my success, I could show them that #Latinx was not a thing to be feared. But, I realized that I was playing the rules by their game. And when you don’t make the rules, you have little chances of winning.

This space is where immigration laws thrive. It enables Congress to make rules for aliens that would be unacceptable if applied to citizens. Immigration laws disproportionately attack whatever race or nationality political trends categorizes as the enemy. And the current law says that’s acceptable. The highest court, the Supreme Court of the United States of America, who after all is reflective of the same fear and attitudes plaguing our nation, has given their stamp of approval recognizing that naturalization and immigration laws governing non-citizens can create laws that would not be acceptable if applied to U.S. Citizens.

Currently, immigration laws are geared towards handling the influx of Central Americans. But, before them it was the Chinese and the Mexicans. Same laws different classes of victims. All have felt the wrath of politically morphed immigration laws as one ICE cold removing machine, directed against them. By them, I mean whoever politics deems unworthy.

America, however, can also be kind. America is filled with compassion for others. America extends a helping hand to those in need. America is human.

When the normal checks and balances, like federal courts and Congress, fail to check the Presidential authority, the burden falls on us, the people. That includes us, #LatinxPrivilege. Those of us with a voting voice, who aren’t afraid to act with purpose and collectively demand more humane immigration laws. The fight won’t happen in the courtroom, it has to happen with Congress. We have to change the black and white discriminatory laws. The last immigration reform was the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Sure, some Presidents have extended different types of immigration amnesty, but that is not enough. Any privilege that one President has the power to give, another has the power to take away; just like we are seeing with DACA. We deserve better. It’s time we increase our standards. We deserve solid, fair laws that cannot be changed with each President.

We have the power to fight for the America that we can see, the humane and kind America. We need to demand comprehensive immigration reform and change the laws that are allowing all this inhumanity take place. It’s time that we stop playing the game by their rules. True success, is being able to listen to the song in our heart, and finding the courage to follow the path, even if it’s against the status quo.