GRF Esmeralda led an insightful discussion on the lives of undocumented immigrants in this nation. Due to the fact that presidential campaigning has dominated the vast majority of media coverage in the past several months, the discussion of immigration has been a hot-button issue. Unfortunately, however, discussion of undocumented immigrants on a more human level has been severely lacking. Undocumented immigrants are exploited to a great deal by many corporations and Americans in this nation, and it is not a stretch to say that our economy could not survive without their contributions. Yet, there is still a tremendous amount of ill-will from many Americans towards these immigrants, and government itself has not provided any truly permanent and quality solutions to allow the millions of undocumented immigrants in this nation to come out of the shadows.

One highly well-known policy is The Dream Act, which essentially states that if undocumented children, who are brought into this country by their undocumented parents, follow certain “steps” like obtaining a high school degree and then a college degree, they can be provided permanent residency. Many immigrants, however, view this policy as a “box” that forces individuals to essentially follow one path to legal status. However, this does not describe millions of immigrants who, for example, would simply like to obtain a work permit. Thus, DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) is perhaps a step in the right direction, as it provides for undocumented immigrants who entered this nation before their 16th birthday a two-year work permit and exemption from deportation. There is a still a great deal of progress needed to be made in order for all undocumented immigrants to live a dignified and secure life.