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Stephanie Cortez
Engl 114B
Eric Kufs
26 April 2016
Immigrants in Los Angeles
The topic of immigrants is one that I feel is sensitive and hard to discuss because
everyone knows at least one person that came illegally from a different country. We all
have the right to an opinion about immigrants and more specifically, the Mexican border
that is both a social and political issue today. Both my parents came illegally from
Mexico and El Salvador and because they were able to overcome obstacles, achieve their
goals, and become extensively successful, I feel it is wrong to label and make it more
difficult for immigrants to come to our country when they are searching for better life
opportunities. The discussion amongst the presidential candidates and politicians about
the Mexican border being created is also a discussion involving millions of dollars. Now
even though there are reasons as to why I feel the border should be less invested in
financially, there are also reasons why creating a larger border could possibly be a good
idea, in other words, have intentions to keep our country safer.
Drug and alcohol smuggling, human trafficking, terrorists, and other criminal
activities coming from Mexico could be reasons why creating a wall is a good idea. If
Donald Trump is elected for President, he gave his word that Mexicans would pay for the
border and according to him, the expenses would be more than eight billion dollars. He
said the wall would be thirty-five to forty-feet tall and require extensive maintenance. All

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the people supporting this idea and this Presidential candidate are satisfied and excited to
hear that less immigrants will be entering the United States and that they wont have to
pay anything for the construction. In contrast to making the border fence a wall, there are
people, like me, who are against blocking people who just want to have better, healthier
lives.
My moms story coming from Mexico is not as tragic and dramatic as others but
she does have a story to tell. Luckily because her mother was born here in Anaheim,
California, her and her brothers and sisters eventually made their way across the border.
They all established lifestyles and families within Los Angeles and now are all successful
in everything they do. There are thousands of families like this today. Many of these
immigrants have jobs that many other people would not want to do but the immigrants do
it anyway because they need to make money somehow. The argument that illegal
immigrants just commit crimes is wrong and false. You always see Hispanics working the
jobs that white people do not want to do and if Trump sends all Mexicans back to
Mexico I do not feel white people would step up to those jobs if they encourage college
degrees and educations so intensely. Others also may feel that if people from Mexico
wanted to come to the United States legally, why not just get a passport? And the answer
is, the government makes it almost impossible.
Can you imagine all the people that wait in line every single day to try and attempt
to get a passport? This process is very tedious, long, complicated, and demands a lot of
patience. According to the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs applying
for a U.S. passport while outside the United States is a different process from applying

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for a U.S. passport while inside the United States. Each U.S. embassy and consulate have
different procedures for submitting and processing your final documents. My family that
lives in Mexico have experienced this complicated procedure. One of my cousins had a
working visa for quite a while and just recently it expired so now she has to wait again
like the rest of the people that do not have passport in order to get hers renewed. The
question also arises where all the money goes from passport fees and the official website
of the Department of Homeland Security helps us understand more.
All the federal officers, border patrol, and employees that work at the boarder lines
all get paid by the government. About a million times every day, people travel in and out
of the United States. All the fees that are sent to the government are all recycled back to
the employees and officers making the boarder more secured. So then obviously these
workers will keep empowering the security of the boarder. If the goal is to target
criminals and drug smugglers, why does the government want to send back innocent
working people? Here is one story that exemplifies an innocent family trying to escape
from danger.
My dads story coming from El Salvador is very nerve wrecking and fearful
because a war was going on during that time. Many Salvadorian families have the same
story when coming to the United States years ago. These families are not coming to
America to be criminals or to smuggle drugs or weapons. These families were looking for
safety and better living. My dad said he crossed a river in order to get to the United States
when he was eleven years old while his sister was fourteen years old and it was the most
dangerous life threatening experience for him. Both my parents say that crossing the

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border is very dangerous and an experience they both will never forget and for that reason
they also still feel that creating a wall border that will costs billions of dollars is cruel and
unnecessary. Here are a couple of more descriptions from the most money influential
website to me, Forbes.
Trump says that the majority of the money from Mexico comes from Mexican
families sending money back to their families. Nearly twenty-five billions of dollars are
sent to Mexico and the Mexican Central Bank. According to Forbes.com, the core of the
plan is that people remitting money through, say, Western Union, would have to show
that they were legally resident in the United States before being allowed to send it. The
lack of this money flowing into Mexico would make the government there keen to pay
for the Wall. Job done.
Everyone has their own opinion about the Mexican border wall being created,
especially because of the way candidate Donald Trump speaks about it. Before declaring
if the wall is right or wrong or even necessary, people really need to look into the
financial matters and more importantly how the people living in Los Angeles feel. Most
people pass over the fact that Hispanic people hold jobs that not everyone wants to have.
They also want to be living healthier and more sanitary. Everyone deserves a chance at
the good life and instead of implanting something cruel like a forty-foot wall, the
government should find solutions that can benefit all the people with less chances of
better living.

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Works Cited
Checker, Fact. Trumps Claim That His Border Wall Would Cost $8 Billion.
The Washington Post. Web. 22 Apr. 2016.\
Cross U.S. Borders. HomelandSecurity. 09 Mar. 2016. Web. 22 Apr. 2016.
Delano Whitlow, James. This Is What the U.S. Mexico Border Wall Actually
Looks Like. NationalGeographic. 04 Mar. 2016. Web. 22 Apr. 2016.
US-Mexico Border Fence Great Wall of Mexico Secure Fence. Global Security.
Web. 22 Apr. 2016.
Worstall, Tim. Donald Trumps Idea for Financing the Mexican Border Wall.
Forbes. 05 Apr. 2016. Web. 22 Apr. 2016.