Hispanic Heritage 2019

Pursuing a Better Tomorrow — What would you give up today for a better tomorrow?

In the 56 years that I have been in the United States, I do not remember ever feeling threatened because of my race, the color of my skin, my accent — being a Latina. I have witnessed some of the challenges, rejection, negative press we have experienced as Latinos. However, the last couple of years have been an intense, outright, overt attack on our Latino community — from the separation of families and putting children in cages to treating those awaiting asylum hearings as if they were less than human to the deliberate assassination of people just because they were of Hispanic descent.

So many people today are quick to cast aside the importance of immigrants in our society, clinging to prejudiced preconceptions of a marginalized group of people. But the truth of the matter is that most immigrants pursue the basic needs many of us take for granted: safety, food, and shelter. They seek a better and safer life for themselves and their families and to accomplish what they would or could not attain in their homeland.

Many people give up the only world they know to give their families a better tomorrow; exchanging family and friends for a lonely existence in a new world. Many put themselves and their families in harm's way by embarking on treacherous trips; risking their lives to escape situations in their homelands that they perceive as much more dangerous than the trip itself.

In 1492, Christopher Columbus started a process of migration that changed the face of the West. For over 200 years, over 750,000 Spaniards immigrated to the New World, and this influence reshaped the Western Hemisphere. The West became a land of immigrants, with the indigenous population as the only natives.

For centuries, people from other nations have been drawn to the US, the land of opportunity where anything is possible. All of those groups have contributed to the United States' success and diversity.

Let's not despair. We have a choice to make — we can make a difference. Let's inspire others to believe in their abilities, dare to dream, and reach for the stars because achieving the American dream is possible, even as an immigrant.