I am a student at North Eugene High School. Before that, I am a first generation Mexican-American to two immigrant parents; parents who have raised me into the individual I am today. I carry their sacrifices with me every time I walk into class, every hour of my shift at my part-time job and every moment I speak out on issues that affect families like mine.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations have shown time and time again that they are not carried out with the intent to remove criminals; rather, they are to harass and violently remove hardworking immigrants and, as data has shown, disregard their legal status. Skin color and the use of foreign language have become probable causes to stop and imprison people who have committed no crimes other than walking across a line on a map.

Immigrants help support the growth of the U.S. economy. In 2022, undocumented immigrants alone paid $96.7 billion to federal, state and local governments in taxes. Over one-third of tax dollars paid by undocumented immigrants helps to fund government programs that these same individuals do not have access to without a Social Security number. I am an American. I come from a family that has worked hard their whole lives to provide and to build a better future for themselves. Here, they can.

As President Ronald Reagan once said: “You can go to live in France, but you cannot become a Frenchman. You can go live in Germany, Turkey, or Japan, but you will not become a German, a Turk, or a Japanese. But anyone, from any corner of the Earth, can come to live in America, and become an American.”

Martha Cruz
Senior, North Eugene High School
Eugene