Student Spectrums

Maaria Khan is a 10th-grade student at ILM Academy, who thinks critically and has strong opinions about the world, everyday politics, and activism for human rights. She wants to fuel people’s thoughts with new ideas eventually and hopes for peace in the world.

As the new year begins, I wonder why Americans continue to remain unaware of U.S. Immigration policies in 2025. The 2017 U.S. Administration was infamous for many strict policies and has now devised a new plan called “Project 2025” to enforce its biases against non-white racial groups from non-white countries, which would expel them and many other diverse groups (that the U.S. economy mainly relies on). I believe it is America’s diversity that “makes it great”— not the expulsion of diversity.

There is an intense controversy regarding the immigration of people to the United States, where citizens are torn between border safety and humanitarian issues that come with drastic decisions, including the separation of millions of families, and building a wall as a barrier against bordering countries. I believe that Mass deportation will also give rise to other matters in the future. If access is not granted to immigrants, regardless of their history and life, there is a greater chance of losing the lives of millions of innocent victims, asylum seekers, and refugees.

Although the Administration may seem fit to take care of taxation and the military, I believe that it is unfit to make such ambitious decisions, especially if it has been going to the highest limits to remove non-citizens from the country by using brutal tactics since 2017, starting with the Travel (Muslim) Ban and the Zero Tolerance Policy, and possibly ending with mass deportation. 

I am troubled about our country, especially California, where the population is full of diversity and mixed races. If it weren’t for escaping and seeking refuge from political and religious persecution, the United States would have never come to life. This is what people are forgetting– their history! To be fair, I believe that the negatives of mass deportation will outweigh any of its positives, and will leave people stranded, and loved ones separated, leading to domestic issues. I hoped the government would be more reasonable and look at the bigger picture. Still, most of the representatives in office seem to agree with the Administration’s policies, disregarding that most of its policies go against the U.S. Constitution and the spirit intended by its framers. 

For example, Article I, Section 8, Clause 18, states that any immigrant “ who has become part of the U.S. population could not be deported without an opportunity to be heard upon the questions involving his right to be and remain in the United States”. Although it may help with national security, “restoring an economic balance”, emphasizing “America First” and America as a “nation of laws” that enforces laws, it is still a very unconventional action to carry out. 

There is so much more to discuss about this issue, but the first thing Americans need to focus on is educating each other about the possible crisis that our country is about to face. Although the Administration’s rhetoric about its policies is very convincing, it is still blinding people from the truth and from what America stands for.

This project may not last forever, but there needs to be a solution in the present to mitigate its effects, starting with educating the people. Millions of innocents are seeking help, but if Americans can’t lend a helping hand, then what is our purpose as a country?