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Stephanie Cortez
Engl 114B
Eric Kufs
03 May 2016
Immigrants in Los Angeles
The topic of immigrants is one that I feel is sensitive and hard to discuss because
everyone knows at least one person that came illegally from a different country. We all have the
right to an opinion about immigrants and more specifically, the Mexican wall being created that
is both a social and political issue today. Both my parents came illegally from Mexico and El
Salvador and because they were able to overcome obstacles, achieve their goals, and become
extensively successful, I feel it is wrong to label and make it more difficult for people to come to
our country when they are searching for better opportunities. The discussion amongst the
presidential candidates and politicians about the Mexican border being created is also a
discussion involving millions of dollars being invested into. Thousands of people are concerned
and also in contrary advocating to pay millions of dollars for the wall to be built. Now even
though there are reasons as to why I feel the border should be less invested in financially, there
are also reasons why creating a larger border could possibly be a good idea, in other words, have
intentions to keep our country safer.
Drug and alcohol smuggling, human trafficking, terrorists, and other criminal activities
coming from other countries could be reasons why creating a wall is a good idea. If Donald
Trump is elected for President, he gave his word that Mexicans would pay for the border and
according to him, the expenses would be more than eight billion dollars. The wall will be thirtyfive to forty-feet tall and require extensive maintenance, Trump says. All the people supporting

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Trump are satisfied and excited to hear that less immigrants will be entering the United States
plus, they will not have to pay anything for the construction. For those that do not know, the
border between Mexico and the United States is already created. The United States border with
Mexico is nearly two thousand miles long according to the US Border Patrol. The border is
made out of fencing and wiring. Trump feels it is necessary to invest millions of dollars for the
border fence to be turned into a cement and brick forty foot tall wall. Hence, there are people,
like me, who think investing millions of dollars is not a good idea when a border already exists.
The next paragraph briefly explains my mothers coming to the United States and how she was
able to overcome obstacles.
My mothers story coming from Mexico is not as tragic and dramatic as others but she
does have a story to tell. Luckily because her mother was born here in Anaheim, California, her
and her brothers and sisters eventually made their way across the border. They all established
lifestyles and families within Los Angeles and now are all successful in everything they do.
There are thousands of families like this today. Many of these immigrants have jobs that many
other people would not want to do but the immigrants do it anyway because they need to make
money somehow. The argument that illegal immigrants just commit crimes is wrong and false.
You always see Hispanics working the jobs that white people do not want to do and if Trump
sends all Mexicans back to Mexico I do not feel white people would step up to those jobs if
they encourage college degrees and educations so intensely. Others also may feel that if people
from Mexico wanted to come to the United States legally, why not just get a passport? And the
answer is, the government makes it almost impossible.
Can you imagine all the people that wait in line every single day to try and attempt to get
a passport? This process is very tedious, long, complicated, and demands a lot of patience.

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According to the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs applying for a U.S.
passport while outside the United States is a different process from applying for a U.S. passport
while inside the United States. Each U.S. embassy and consulate have different procedures for
submitting and processing your final documents. My family that lives in Mexico have
experienced this complicated procedure. One of my cousins had a working visa for quite a while
and just recently it expired so now she has to wait again like the rest of the people that do not
have passport in order to get hers renewed. The question also arises where all the money goes
from passport fees and the official website of the Department of Homeland Security helps us
understand more.
All the federal officers, border patrol, and employees that work at the boarder lines all get
paid by the government. About a million times every day, people travel in and out of the United
States. All the fees that are sent to the government are all recycled back to the employees and
officers making the border more secured. So then obviously these workers will keep empowering
the security of the boarder. If the goal is to target criminals and drug smugglers, why does the
government want to send back innocent working people? Here is one story that exemplifies an
innocent family trying to escape from danger.
My dads story coming from El Salvador is very nerve wrecking and fearful because a
war was going on during that time. Many Salvadorian families have the same story when coming
to the United States years ago. These families are not coming to America to be criminals or to
smuggle drugs or weapons. These families were looking for safety and better living. My dad said
he crossed a river in order to get to the United States when he was eleven years old while his
sister was fourteen years old and it was the most dangerous life threatening experience for him.
Both my parents say that crossing the border is very dangerous and an experience they both will

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never forget and for that reason they also still feel that creating a wall border that will costs
billions of dollars is cruel and unnecessary. Here are a couple of more descriptions from the most
money influential website to me, Forbes.
Trump says that the majority of the money from Mexico comes from Mexican families
sending money back to their families. Nearly twenty-five billions of dollars are sent to Mexico
and the Mexican Central Bank. According to Forbes.com, the core of the plan is that people
remitting money through, say, Western Union, would have to show that they were legally
resident in the United States before being allowed to send it. The lack of this money flowing into
Mexico would make the government there keen to pay for the Wall. Job done.
Everyone has their own opinion about the Mexican border wall being created, especially
because of the way candidate Donald Trump speaks about it. Before declaring if the wall is right
or wrong or even necessary, people really need to look into the financial matters and more
importantly how the people living in Los Angeles feel. Most people pass over the fact that
Hispanic people hold jobs that not everyone wants to have. They also want to be living healthier
and more sanitary. Everyone deserves a chance at the good life and instead of implanting
something cruel like a forty-foot wall, the government should find solutions that can benefit all
the people with less chances of better living.

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Works Cited
Checker, Fact. Trumps Claim That His Border Wall Would Cost $8 Billion. The
Washington Post. Web. 22 Apr. 2016.\
Cross U.S. Borders. HomelandSecurity. 09 Mar. 2016. Web. 22 Apr. 2016.
Delano Whitlow, James. This Is What the U.S. Mexico Border Wall Actually Looks
Like. NationalGeographic. 04 Mar. 2016. Web. 22 Apr. 2016.
US-Mexico Border Fence Great Wall of Mexico Secure Fence. Global Security. Web.
22 Apr. 2016.
Worstall, Tim. Donald Trumps Idea for Financing the Mexican Border Wall.
Forbes. 05 Apr. 2016. Web. 22 Apr. 2016.