Travel, or Anchoring?

In 2015, I departed on a journey of self-realization, exploration, and growing up. Framed as a study abroad trip, the adventure formed to be more about making connections and broadening horizons. I trekked through 6 countries total, and had the opportunity to meet many people living throughout all of South East Asia.

If this sounds like your typical ramblings of an upper-middle class college student, peppered with an internship connection or two, you’d be right. American students, particularly those who are middle class and above and well educated, tend to take their journeys for granted. So instead, I’m going to talk about Louis.

In 2013, Louis also embarked on a journey. He packed all he owned into 2 suitcases and moved from Vietnam to the United States. He had never been there before. He got off the plane, meeting his elder sister, and began life as an International student.

For Louis, the prospect of living in his home country was never a bright one. As a film student, opportunities were scarce. His parents had some money, but not enough real connections to get him anywhere. So, he immigrated, joining his sister, who had left the country a few years prior. The problem doesn’t appear in the beginning of the story, you see. It’s the now.

Our country has always had some sort of a problem with immigration. We started closing the borders for Asian immigrants starting in the 1880’s, and even now, in order to come here legally, and stay here legally, you must be exceptional. For example, in the 1960’s, Indian women with nursing degrees were allowed, but South East Asians from war torn countries? No. Currently, Donald Trump and Jeb Bush are ranting and raving that Mexican and Asian Immigrants should not be allowed into the country due to them either raping people or giving birth to “Anchor babies”. The Dream Act has been under debate and not without controversy because the act legitimizes those who were born here from undocumented parents. People proclaim that these kids don’t deserve the title of citizen. And yet, immigration survives. Some legally. Others not.

If Louis wants to stay in the country, he must be exceptional. He must earn A’s and only A’s, impress employers, and prove himself to be enough of an asset to gain sponsorship. Will this happen? No one knows yet. Unfortunately, many people who immigrate here don’t often get the chance to go to school, or have employers willing to sponsor them. The process to citizenship is long and tedious, taking anywhere from 5 months to 2 years to become a citizen. In order to get that chance, you’d have to be sponsored. Louis’ sister is also here on student visa. Her marriage with her first husband went south before the paperwork was filed for a green card. Her visa has expired. Louis has no one to sponsor him. He’s running out of money, making him work under-the-table. He has an opportunity to gain citizenship through marriage to another. The Jeb Bushes of the world would scream for him to go home, to not take that chance. But how can you say that this man, that all these workers and inhabitants are not wholly American, when they’ve fought to live and survive here? When they believe in the American Dream, when they work harder than someone like me, when they want to live here because that’s they’re choice to? There is no easy answer.

For me to tell my story as a temporary Ex-Pat, surrounded by other Ex-Pats, and say it’s the same thing is wrong. I have seen temples, met others like and unlike me, but I have never struggled. Countries welcomed me with open arms. They see the front of my passport and know me. I can talk about visiting monks and backpacking to my friends and look cool. I’m “edgy”. It’s not permanent, but a temporary tattoo that I can wash off on the way to work. U.S. Immigrants are not edgy. The variable, the chance of making do with an unofficial status is a like a stain that never washes out. The country of one’s birth sets one up for life. It doesn’t matter your skill level, your intelligence, your work ethic; immigration is determined more by what you can’t control than what you can. This needs to change.

This country was built on the backs of immigrants, and even though our history is nuanced and negative at parts, there is still good things that happen here. To deny others the right to access this land is inherently wrong. It’s not just about me, or my struggling friends, but also the men who roof your house, the person washing dishes in the back room of a restaurant, and the myriad of people trying to make a living for themselves. Now is the time to come up with a solution to immigration that helps people, and doesn’t bar them from making their lives better.