Immigrants

The social group collection that I chose is Immigrants. I chose this social group because I have family that are Immigrants. I want to learn about this social group because I want to know more about other people’s experiences with being Immigrants.

While many people have experiences with immigration, there are so many different stories about people and the things they encounter. One example of these stories according to Newsela is about a twenty-one year old girl named Alejandra Pinzon who was living in the united states illegally and had to decide between staying in the U.S. and risk being deported or going back to mexico and not risk anything, at the time of her decision she was only seventeen years old. She decided to move back to mexico and leave behind the life she had started only to two years later find out about the Dream Act which allowed illegal immigrants who graduated high school not be deported. This story shows an experience that is common among young immigrants and immigrants in general because most immigrants are afraid of being deported and leaving behind family. Part of the immigrant identity is hard work. My own identity is part of this social group because I have family members who are immigrants.

This is Alejandra Pinzon in her home in Mexico.

The individuals in this social group are different from one another because they come from different countries. An example of this is the Immigrants from Nicaragua or Honduras. In the Newsela article “Ciudad Juárez unprepared for new influx of migrants looking for safety” they talk about the successes and challenges immigrants face. Some successes that the group has faced has been that some of them are being able to cross into the U.S. Challenges that the group has faced is when they travel to the different countries and there isn’t anywhere for them to stay or enough resources like food.

This is Sandra Garcia, from Nicaragua she is seeking shelter in Ciudad Juárez Mexico.

The challenges that individuals in this group face that other people outside the group might not understand are when they have to leave family behind in the U.S. because they're afraid of being deported or leaving your country trying to cross into the U.S. but not being allowed to. I think that others can do the following to understand this social group: like for example asking questions or learning more about them by reading articles. Assumptions that people might make about people who identify within this social group could be that they are lazy and are stealing other people's work and things. Stereotypes can negatively affect individuals who identify within this group because it hurts them. Stereotyping is wrong because it makes people feel bad.

Communities can take food, clothes, and blankets to where the people are staying to help individuals within this social group. This will help the social group because they will receive the care and help they need. What I can do in particular to help this social group is volunteer at shelters or take them thing that are necessary and they need.