Artifact 1 (No relation to my actual blog)

My first artifact is two articles outlining a comprehensive problem that many Hispanic children face.  Last year approximately 38,833 children fled their home countries and crossed the United States border.  It is expected that 74,000 thousand children will cross the border by the end of this year.  Through the asylum policy, these children are eligible to seek asylum in the US if they fled a situation where they were afraid for their lives.  However, under the current law a judge needs to make a decision on whether each individual child qualifies to stay in the United States under asylum. Normally, these children are kept in self-servicing facilities for short periods of time. These include schooling, shelter, and food.  However the current system is not even close to equipped to handle a 142% increase of children refugees crossing the border since 2011, which means that the US is not able to give them all that they need.  The effectiveness of shelters and the wellbeing of children while inside them differs from child to child.  Some kids found safety and a new start, while others were beat up and harassed.  Most of these children are fleeing from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras; some of the highest countries for death rates.  Honduras reaps the highest death rates currently in the world, El Salvador comes in second, and Guatemala comes in fifth.  These countries host gangs that often target and threaten children and teens.  When these children make it across the border, if they make it at all, they are usually suffering from PTSD or depression.  This can make the adjustment to the US very difficult.  Given the children's undocumented alien status, their presence in the US is causing controversy.  As the problem will not dissipate any time soon, and Congress is continually stuck in a stalemate, many believe that the President will use executive action to come up with a solution.  This solution could come in the form of allowing undocumented parents to come into the US to raise their children with US citizenships.  This could also mean that the president implements a policy called "Parole in Place" which would allow parents or relatives to apply for citizenship unhindered by their illegal crossing into the United States.  However, no matter what the president decides, his decision will be largely influenced by the political dynamics in the country and his party. Whatever the president decides, the matter is very delicate both politically and culturally.

Reyna faced a very similar situation as these children, and one that many latino children face.  Her parents left her in Mexico to work in the United States.  Her older sister had to start work at a very young age, and often they were starving.  Reyna was actually very lucky when you consider that many of these children don't even have siblings that cross with them.  These children are alone, scared, and usually have crossed great distances.  Before reading this article I didn't consider that many immigrants cross the border illegally because there is no other choice for them.  A lot of times escaping their situation is a life-or-death thing, and that's not something I realized.  I now have a lot more respect and admiration for those who make it across the border, instead of anger or pity.  Just because people grew up in different circumstances doesn't mean they don't deserve just as much or more of the opportunities that I recieve.  So thank you Ariana Grande, Ian Gordon, and Tamara Keith for opening my eyes just a little bit more on the topic of immigration.

The Article/Transcript - Password: the_distance
if that doesn't work...
The Original for Article 1
The Original for Article 2