Page 103 - 2021-bfw-aufses-alr-1e

In the name of protection and security, immigrants’ rights are being eroded as I write. Foreign 5
students and workers tremble. I’ve seen an old South Asian man whose hands shook at
the airport when he gave his green card to immigration officers, fearing sudden arrest and
deportation. I know an undocumented college student at Berkeley — he was brought to the Andrew Lam
US when he was three years old — who now fakes his address on any application for fear of
being deported.
Yet I have my hopes. Americans rallied at airports in protest when Trump signed an 10
executive order to keep certain groups of people out of the country, including green card
holders. The protest against the new tyranny is strong and ongoing. I have hope to that
the damage Trump is creating both at home and abroad can be mitigated by his growing
unpopularity, After all, he is dismantling international institutions that have been in place since
World War II, potentially returning the world to a state of competing nations with hard borders,
high tariffs, trade wars, and gun boat diplomacy, turning against the forces of globalization.
And worse, in turning against America’s liberal values and our identity as a nation of
immigrant, we are losing our strength in diversity.
Over the years I find it beneficial to look at this country through two different lenses:
America versus the United States. The United States is a sovereign nation with permanent
interests that is currently waging a war on terrorism. And it will trample upon innocents in its
path, be it at home or abroad, if need be, in order to win it. In the process, the newcomer to
this country, one without a voice and resources, often becomes collateral damage.
America, on the other hand, has everything you and I ever dreamed of: transparency,
freedom, democracy, opportunity, due process, fair play and the promise of progress.
America is where you work hard and earn respect.
The two versions exist in a kind of complex dance. In good times, America leads. In bad
times, America is forgotten and the United States dances alone. These days, I fear that to be a
patriotic immigrant is to love the ideals of America despite what the United States is doing in
the name of security.
While I understand the logic of permanent interests, if America is destroyed in the 15
process, then what is the use? And as far as I am concerned the only good patriotism is a
civilized one. Blind patriotism always leads to bloody ends. To be patriotic is to dare ask
questions. Must rights be abused in the name of security? Is it truly the country’s interest to
demonize its minorities and its newcomers?
Dear cousin, I hope I haven’t completely frightened you, but the situation requires
honesty. To reach American shores these days is a much more difficult undertaking, with
fewer ready-made promises on the horizon.
I still want you to make this difficult journey, but you must be prepared for the challenges
ahead. And I’ll let you in on a secret about this American dream you spoke so fondly of: it
is you who must renew it. Without you, who dream the American dream, the country is in
danger of becoming old. Without your energy, we would weaken. Even if we don’t know it
yet, we all desperately need to be reborn through your eyes.
So, is the American Dream still alive? No, cousin, not really. Not without you at the table.
Not without you prospering. Not without you.
2001/2018
Immigration and the American Dream CONVERSATION
83
Copyright © 2021 by Bedford, Freeman & Worth High School Publishers. Uncorrected proofs have been used in this sample chapter.
Distributed by by Bedford, Freeman & Worth High School Publishers. Strictly for use with its products. Not for redistribution.

AufsesALR1e_24889_ch05_002_097.indd 83 5/4/2020 3:58:21 PM