There are two different views about crossing the border. There is the view of the people living in the United States and there is the view of the immigrants trying to get to the United States. The American citizens wish for all the border crossings to stop. These people are coming to the United States and taking up all of the jobs. They do not have to pay taxes and most Americans do not like them. In contrast, the person crossing the border is risking their life, only to try to make a better life for themselves. A lot of them are just trying to be reunited with family members.

Why do so many people take the risk to leave everything behind and come to the United States? They do this for more opportunity for their families. They risk falling off of a train while sleeping, drowning on a small boat, or dying in a desert to get to America. As an American, I guess I have always taken for granted the freedom that I have and the opportunity that is abundant in the United States. I have never had to live in circumstances where poverty prevails. However, I have much compassion to those who do live this life.

What happens to those that do cross the border to the United States? Some of them get caught, after they have endured so much to get here, and are deported back to where they came from. Others manage to make it safely and find work. Some may even become citizens of the United States. Nevertheless, there is always a price that they must pay. A lot of these immigrants have left behind their children. Sometimes, those children decide to take a journey alone to the United States. Many of which, never make it here. Also, when families are reunited, there have been years that have passed and the parent and child do not have a bond anymore. It has to be difficult to deal with these circumstances.

I can not imagine having to make a decision to leave my children behind to travel to another country to make things better for my family. I try to think of the desperation that leads to this choice. In finding that motivation, I can somehow see why there is such a problem with immigration. But I ask myself, why society as a whole can’t do more to make things better for these people. Instead of criticizing them, why can’t we have some compassion and understand their choices? Can we not look through their eyes and walk a few miles in their shoes? If we could, what could we do to “fix” this problem? After all, they are not traveling this journey to hurt anyone. What would you do if you lived the life of poverty or if you lived the life under a brutal dictatorship? Would we not all want better for ourselves?

In summary, I hear so much talk about immigration and how so many do not like immigrants. I only wish that we all could think of the immigrant as a person, with a soul, doing what they feel they have to do for their family. I have to think as if I were the immigrant. When I go to bed each night, I am thankful that I do not have to make the choice to cross the border.