Cultural Event: Who are the Undocumented?
For this cultural event, I attended one of “The Freedom School” sessions on January 26th. The sessions all focused on different aspects of social justice in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and his mission for equality. The talk that I attended focused on the specific issue of undocumented immigrants and was entitled “Who are the undocumented?”. Two speakers, Dr. Silvia Nagy–Zekmi and her invitee, Obed Arango Hisijara, presented their findings and stories about those who live in the United States without legal documentation.
Dr. Nagy-Zekmi, a professor of Hispanic and cultural studies at Villanova, began the session by laying out the real facts about illegal immigrants in our country. Currently, it is estimated that about 11 million undocumented immigrants reside in the United States, making up about 3.5% of our population. However, contrary to much of the public’s belief, illegal immigration is actually declining at this moment, …show more content…
After listening to this session, I not only learned the real facts of immigration, but I was also inspired to begin to take action myself, and to fight for those whose lack of documentation takes away their voice. The presentation gave me a glimpse into a life that few from my background know much about. For many, undocumented immigrants are not seen as the people that they really are, but instead as a group of criminals with no regard for the law. The experience at “The Freedom School” offered everyone present a depiction of how these immigrants are not a threat, but instead, are people trying to make a better life for themselves and their families. So to answer the question posed by the title of the presentation, the undocumented are, at their core, a group not unalike ourselves. Circumstances have given them a difficult road, but they have talents too. They are smart, loving, hardworking, and, with a little help, are able to
For this cultural event, I attended one of “The Freedom School” sessions on January 26th. The sessions all focused on different aspects of social justice in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and his mission for equality. The talk that I attended focused on the specific issue of undocumented immigrants and was entitled “Who are the undocumented?”. Two speakers, Dr. Silvia Nagy–Zekmi and her invitee, Obed Arango Hisijara, presented their findings and stories about those who live in the United States without legal documentation.
Dr. Nagy-Zekmi, a professor of Hispanic and cultural studies at Villanova, began the session by laying out the real facts about illegal immigrants in our country. Currently, it is estimated that about 11 million undocumented immigrants reside in the United States, making up about 3.5% of our population. However, contrary to much of the public’s belief, illegal immigration is actually declining at this moment, …show more content…
After listening to this session, I not only learned the real facts of immigration, but I was also inspired to begin to take action myself, and to fight for those whose lack of documentation takes away their voice. The presentation gave me a glimpse into a life that few from my background know much about. For many, undocumented immigrants are not seen as the people that they really are, but instead as a group of criminals with no regard for the law. The experience at “The Freedom School” offered everyone present a depiction of how these immigrants are not a threat, but instead, are people trying to make a better life for themselves and their families. So to answer the question posed by the title of the presentation, the undocumented are, at their core, a group not unalike ourselves. Circumstances have given them a difficult road, but they have talents too. They are smart, loving, hardworking, and, with a little help, are able to