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As an illegal immigrant, your dreams are delayed and for most, they don't happen at all. They follow the footsteps of their environment and when making it to the other side struggle with building their lives without proper paperwork. "Maybe it just sags
Like a heavy load." as they carry their burdens around they work hard for a better life to give their families. "Or does it explode?" or they are faced with obstacles they cannot over come trying to make it to the land of the free.

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This video clip that I have chosen shows how immigrants are tricked into the hope of achieving the American Dream. They are told by illegal smugglers how easy it is for them to get across the border. They guarantee their safety and guarantee them to get into the United States, they are told the journey will be short and they won't go hungry but they lie to them only for them to be deported back to their homes. They all have the hope of that dream only for their journey to be cut short, a journey that comes with trauma, and some never even make it back. Everyone who has made the journey and failed says it's too dangerous and not to try.

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There were more migrants arrested or detained along the Southern border in April than during any other month in the last 20 years.

Desperate to make it to the U.S., many Central American migrants are being influenced by smugglers and their rosy pitches of an easy journey north.

Amna Nawaz reports on the message that is fueling migration.

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How smugglers seduce Central American migrants with the 'American Dream'

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More migrants were arrested or detained along the southern border in April than during any other month in the last 20 years. Desperate to make it to the U.S., many Central American migrants are being influenced by smugglers and their rosy pitches of an easy journey north.

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My family has such high expectations to see me excel and I wouldn't want to let them down. I know I have great potential to show I can do something great where I am able to support my family because they deserve it. I wouldn't want them to worry about anything ever again because they'd be able to depend on me. I'd be able to give back to them for everything they have done for me and to achieve that I'd achieve my American dream of them being proud of me.

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The article I have chosen is "The Myth of the American Dream" By Keelin W. The article states that the land of opportunity for hard-working people is unachievable because of their past. "The illusion of the American Dream has misleadingly led minorities into a mindless society. In America, we are known as the land of opportunity and success. By us remaining ignorant to the inequalities that still exist, we have allowed thousands of innocent lives to be ruined." Immigrants are seen as lazy and are told they "steal jobs" yet they are the most hard-working people I know. They work in the fields in the hot sun, with their backs hunched over from sunrise till afternoon picking fruit. Working construction, fixing roads, and selling roses on the side of the road, but I've never seen them ask for handouts only supporting the community as a whole. To say immigrants do not work hard enough would be a lie, they fight to make a better life for themselves to immigrate to the United States to support their families back home and give their children better educational opportunities. Yet in the United States, they are also faced with many obstacles that make the high expectations of the American dream of life being "easier" unrealistic.

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All over the globe, America is seen as the land of opportunity for hard-working people. While we do boast the American dream of economic and educational success for those willing to work for it; our discriminatory past doesn't allow all of our citizens to achieve this dream. Diverse Americans are excluded from achieving the dream, from economical to societal unfairities, we falsely accuse minorities of not working hard enough or being un-American. Our constant pressure of an unfair and biased value is nothing but ignorant. Diverse Americans come to face the harsh reality of lack of education and an empty wallet which, forces them to have a differing creed than a typical American born into privilege and wealth.

The typical American is white, middle class and born with a multitude of opportunities to have a successful career. As I fit into most of the categories of a typical American and live in a completely whitewashed community, I can testify that most of my peers lack empathy for those in lesser situations. Just in the past week, I've heard a group of my peers complain about how "final season is worse than being a jew in world war 2"(yes, they actually said this). Although this comment is quite false and striking, this is just one of many examples I could give. While not all Americans are like this, most do not realize the huge advantage they have over diverse Americans. According to NCCP, in America, 58% of low-income families are minorities. Yet, they only make up 40% of America's population. This is no coincidence, years of oppression and maltreatment caused this concerning gap. Because of this the typical American quickly glance over the statistics, not realizing the effects of being impoverished. Being in a low-income class can devastate families because in America being impoverished "has a significant impact on..physical health" and the "ability to receive adequate medical care and nutrition"(Lumen, The Impacts Of Social Class). Without proper healthcare for these families, many innocent lives are being cut short. This is one of the advantages that the typical American tends to forget about or not even realize. Having access to healthcare is supposed to be a right given to all Americans, but somehow skips over those with economic issues. Growing up in a low-income home can also very negatively affect children in other ways too. Children who grow up in lower income homes have problems with "achievement and engagement in school" and have higher "anxiety levels"(K. Cooper and K. Stewart), and statistically, there is only a "30% chance that[children of lower income families] ascend to the middle class (and this number drops significantly depending on your ethnicity)"(Hanna Brooks Olsen, EF). As a result of this, the children follow the same paths as their parents. This causes a continuous cycle that makes minorities remain at the same income class for generations.

The lack of wealth isn't the only thing that is detrimental to the children's future; because of where the families are living, they may only have access to poor education schools. In 1934, the act of redlining was put into place due to the National Housing Act. Redlining was a practice that segregated neighborhoods by race. Although this act was banned in 1968, the areas marked as "colored" are still affected. Because they were marked as colored/dangerous, the government gave less funding to the schools that took the students living in the marked areas. Even though it is more than 50 years later, "African Americans and Latinos continue to be denied mortgages at far higher rates than whites in [white areas]"(K. Capps and K. Rabinowitz). This causes the families to be stuck in the areas with the least school funding. This is in the worst interest of the children. If they are unable to afford private schooling, the students are left "reading and doing math at a seventh or eighth-grade level"(Carol J. Carter, Huffington Post). This is another cause of why the children continue to be low income for the rest of their lives. Without proper education, finding a job with fair pay is even harder. Even if they finish their education and are able to find an employer, odds are against the minorities. Recent statistics show that minorities only earn "72 percent of the average earnings of comparable Caucasian men"(APA). A person who is classified as a minority will always be trying to catch up to the white competitor, and this cycle will continue unless our society changes.

As a 15-year-old white girl, who lives in one of the wealthiest towns in America; if I am able to recognize the faults and failures of our country, why can the government not? Segregation has been an illegal practice for decades, yet the racist ideals of previous Americans have been able to affect our country today. In America, we idolize and value hard work, and render that if we work hard, we too can achieve the bliss of the "American dream". Because America's creed of hard work and success, most look down upon citizens in poverty, seeing them as lazy or a burden. Diverse Americans were born to fail, and without aid from us, this will continue. Although there is no quick fix, the first step to take is recognizing the issue and spreading the word. Anything helps, from a simple discussion at the dinner table to talking to friends, spreading the facts will only popularize the issue. In my community, we put up a front of the perfect life and an accepting community. Although not all of my peers participate, many make crude and discriminatory jokes; not realizing the effects they may have on others. If we ignore and continue to allow for these discriminatory "jokes" to continue, racism will soon become normalized again. Until this issue is fixed, the American dream will remain nothing but a foolish fantasy made by ignorant Americans and a biased myth.

Addy, Sophia, and Vanessa R. Wight. "Basic Facts About Low-income Children." National Center for Children in Poverty, Feb. 2012, www.nccp.org/publications/pub_1049.html. Accessed 7 June 2019.

"Boundless Sociology." Lumen. Lumen, courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-sociology/

chapter/the-impacts-of-social-class/. Accessed 7 June 2019.

"Does Money Affect Children's Outcomes?" Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 22 Oct. 2013, www.jrf.org.uk/report/does-money-affect-children's-outcomes. Accessed 7 June 2019.

"Ethnic and Racial Minorities & Socioeconomic Status." American Psychological Association, www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/publications/minorities.

"How the Fair Housing Act Failed Black Homeowners." City Lab, 11 Apr. 2018, www.citylab.com/equity/2018/04/how-the-fair-housing-act-failed-black-homeowners/557576/. Accessed 7 June 2019.

Koball, Heather, and Yang Jiang. "Basic Information about Low Income Children." National Center for Children in Poverty, Columbia University, Jan. 2018, www.nccp.org/publications/pub_1194.html. Accessed 7 June 2019.

Simms, Margret C., et al. "Racial and Ethnic Disparities Among Low-Income Families ." The Urban Institute, Aug. 2009, www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/32976/411936-racial-and-ethnic-disparities-among-low-income-families.pdf. Accessed 7 June 2019.

"Why Aren't Low-Income Students Succeeding in School?" Huffington Post, 19 Mar. 2013, www.huffpost.com/entry/why-arent-low-income-stud_b_2909180. Accessed 7 June 2019.

"Why Escaping Poverty Isn't Nearly as Easy as People Think." Everyday Feminism, 29 Jan. 2017, everydayfeminism.com/2017/01/escaping-poverty-is-not-easy/. Accessed 7 June 2019.

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All over the globe, America is seen as the land of opportunity for hard-working people. While we do boast the American dream of economic and educational success for those willing to work for it; our discriminatory past doesn't allow all of our citizens to achieve this dream.

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In the book The Distance Between Us, the storyline shows an immigrant family's idea of the American dream. The book starts off with a mother leaving her three children in Mexico with their father's mother to join him in America. The United States is seen as a land of opportunity as many parents leave their children behind in hopes of a better life to give their children better opportunities for a bright future. The book goes on with the children staying in Mexico for years being treated horribly waiting for their parents until they finally leave for "El Otro Lado" with their father having to sneak across the border. Though their lives in America had become better as they had better opportunities for their future education they also faced many hardships with abuse and abandonment. America is every immigrant's dream as in this quote from the book, “Like most immigrants, my father had left his native country with high expectations of what life in El Otro Lado would be like.” Reyna's father's life in America wasn't much better for him though as he struggled with money, he couldn't speak English so he couldn't excel in a better job, and he lived with his past experiences from how he grew up and became abusive and an alcoholic. The American dream is such a high expectation for many people until it is seen for what it really is and it is a struggle for many to overcome as they give up and fall into old habits due to their environment.

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For my interview, I asked my grandpa about his idea of the American dream. This is what he told me, “For your Tata since 1980, the American dream does not exist, and I also believe that the American dream no longer existed long before.” He immigrated from Mexico with my great-grandmother and her 11 kids. I think that is why he wanted a better life for himself, “My dream was to have a better lifestyle than the one my parents lived... and give my children a better lifestyle.” America is seen to have so many opportunities, “My American dream was to have a better life with more opportunities for myself.” In Mexico, they lived a harder life and in America, it wasn’t much different and this is what influenced his idea of the American dream, “The lifestyle we had been living in Mexico.” When I asked if his hopes and dreams have come true this is what he told me, “No they have not because the cost of living in California is very high... and you only survive I think my dreams are half.” He also said the idea of the American dream is realistic to achieve he said no, “No, I do not think it's realistic to achieve not for today... not for a short future,” and the United States is no longer a land of opportunity, “No, it is not anymore.” When asked one piece of advice his parents tried to impress upon him this is what he said, “Study for good preparation... but the economic situation we lived in was not good and I had to work as soon as I reached the working age.” This is the advice he gave me, “Always remember what I told you, you are very good at studying, Mija, you have shown... you have me and you also have your father... do the best you can to prepare for your future”

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I'd like to succeed in a job that I like and to not be stuck somewhere I don't want to work. A lot of my family members are stuck in jobs they hate because they never got to further their education and that's the only thing they know how to do. I want to have a job that I love to do and have it be something I am passionate about.

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A part of my American Dream is to be financially stable. I have seen my family struggle with money my whole life and I don't want to deal with the same struggles. It was never to a point where we didn't have anything but we were always trying to survive. To be financially stable without having to worry about money

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What is my definition of the American Dream?

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What is my definition of the American Dream?

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When I think about the "American Dream" I think of opportunity. The United States is seen as a free land of equality and opportunities for everyone. This also comes with great struggle as many people with access to these opportunities face obstacles that get in the way of them accomplishing their goals. Many of these problems they are faced with they themselves cannot fix. Though you might be able to get out of the financial situation you are stuck in you cannot change your race or gender. That is the biggest obstacle many people face. The belief that America is equal for all mostly seems like a fairytale to me in the fact that women are faced with prejudice as they are seen as less than men.