Seeking Asylum

As I close my eyes and drift away to a land where there is love, health, peace, and blessings. I wanted to take the time to think and reflect.

     As I begin to wrap up my thoughts with regards to the Hispanic / Latino student experience in education, and the public education system for now, I take the time to connect my thoughts to the caravan of migrants that arrived at the U.S. / Mexico border to seek asylum in the United States of America. There are 2 very different narratives within the U.S. with regards to the Hispanic / Latino population segment. One is the U.S. born, or those who have legal status, and the second are the undocumented, or those seeking status in the U.S. These 2 categories can further be divided, but for simplicity, I will further my thoughts with the use of the 2 categories mentioned. 

     We rarely hear about the successes of the Hispanic / Latino minority population, within the news media, or at the national level. It can be assumed that the Hispanic / Latino stereotype is invisibly working systemically, to maintain pre-concieved notions, and prejudices. Here we can make a connection with the asylum seekers, who are labelled with terms, such as border showdown, who will be further labelled as they try to seek entry. 

     There are many ways we could respond to the caravan of migrants. One would be to listen to their stories, and allow entry. Another would be a future endeavour, where countries such as America and Mexico work together to understand why people are crossing the border at a rapid rate. I think that countries have to enforce some sort of security at the border, because there can be incidents where people use the label of the Asylum Seeker for another purpose of entry. I'm not saying that these migrants include people as such, but of course there has to be this type of awareness. There is also the response from a humanitarian perspective, because if these individuals are escaping harsh circumstances, then there is a civic duty of a nation to assist these individuals. 

Article - The New York Times

​     Border crossing, migrants, and asylum seekers at the U.S. / Mexico border is nothing new, as it is known that people try to cross to the USA almost everyday. But I wanted to share another response. America is viewed as a wealthy nation, just as a person is tested with the accumulation of wealth, so to is the wealth of a nation. Maybe the fact that there are individuals who desire the assistance of America almost everyday, is God's reminder, God's testing of wealthy nations? To see how nations will respond, and as a reminder of the duty to assist nations that are less fortunate. These reminders should also act as action items, to propel social innovations forward, to find solutions that do not invoke prejudice or stereotyping. 

Questions:

*Why are there an increasing number of migrants at the U.S. / Mexico border?

*What is happening in the nation of Mexico to create asylum seekers?

*How can the two nations work together to assist those in need?

*How is / or is not the Mexican leadership responding to those who are in need?

Who are Hispanic / Latino?
It is important to understand that Hispanic / Latino are not necessarily from the same race, origin, or ethnicity. The following are quotes to further understand what the umbrella term Hispanic / Latino encompasses: 

*Latino and Hispanic are not a homogeneous group, these are umbrella terms “that cover many national origins, races, and cultures from the descendants of pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Americas to the offspring of migratory streams to the Spanish-speaking New World from every region of the planet” (Benítez, 1998, p. 57). 

*They are a heterogeneous population, “with a wide variety of backgrounds, nationalities, ethnicities, social and economic conditions, and levels of English-language proficiency (Campbell et al., 2012; Pino et al., 2012; Razfar & Simon, 2011)” 
(Flink, 2017). 

*The U. S. Census Bureau categorized Latino / Hispanic individuals as “Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central America, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race”
(Flink, 2017). 

Further Reading:

The New York Times - A Refugee Caravan is Hoping for Asylum in the U.S. How Are These Cases Decided?

​References: 
Benítez, M. (1998).Hispanic-Serving Institutions: Challenges and Opportunities. NEW DIRECTIONS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION. Summer108, 57-68

Flink, J. P. (2017). Latinos and Higher Education: A Literature Review. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education.1-13. 

It is with these thoughts I hope that all those who are in need, or escaping harsh circumstance, receive the assistance they require with ease. My thoughts to share with love & kindness! :) 

Notes: These thoughts were originally hand-written on May 2nd, 2018.
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