In the blistering heat, a semi truck filled to the brim with migrants was deserted on a Texas route known as “the mouth of the wolf.”
“For many, the American dream has become a nightmare.” -Bernie Sanders, U.S. Senator
The United States of America, the land where dreams come true. The land where everyone is free and accepted no matter their race, ethnicity, or identity. Those two sentences are completely false. There is no freedom/justice for those who aren’t from the great land of America. For example, you’ll have to be either a rich white man or female to have a good paying job. You’ll also have to be a male or female born in the U.S to be welcomed in the great land of America. America thrives on the great privileges it has to offer. They exploit themselves on the fact that they have job opportunities open to everyone who’s in need and that they have the best education system’s to offer. However, their education system is not something they should be flaunting about. Since 1970, there have been a total of 2,032 school shootings in the U.S. Which also comes to show that gun control is completely out of control. Although there are some positives about the U.S. for some people, nothing much comes to mind except all the negatives. For instance the discrimination people of different ethnicity and race face every single waking hour. Although one of the most controversial topics in America is immigrants. They don’t accept foreigners in fear they’ll consume their land and take their jobs. On February 5, 2017 Alma Siller Contreras was faced with a hard decision. Donald Trump was close to being elected and was talking about his plans on building a wall along with raising gasoline prices all over Mexico. He was testifying and putting into effect laws over countries he didn’t reign over. Alma Siller was appalled when she heard such things. Alma was an American citizen but had a tourist visa to visit her family north of the border. In hearing Donald Trump’s speech Alma made an oath to herself stating, “If he wins, I’m going to return my visa.” In returning her visa she would stay permanently in Mexico and never go back to America. Sure enough he won and as promised Alma returned her visa. She knew she had to protect her nationalism and what she stands for. She’s an astonishing example of patriotism for her country and people all around the world. The President of the United States can’t even keep his citizens to stay on his side. Such absurdity for the land of the “free.”
Many undocumented people from all over the world attempt to get into America. They will do one of two things: That undocumented person might fill in for their paperwork and wait till he/she receives it. Or said undocumented person will find someone to smuggle them into the country anyway possible. This approach is more commonly used and heard about. One of the most recent smuggles happened June 20, 2022. Four men attempted to smuggle 53 migrants in a tractor/trailer. 22 of the migrants were from Mexico, 2 from Honduras, and 7 from Guatemala the federals have not yet identified the nationalities of the other 23 people. Having said that, Francisco Garduño Yanez the head of Mexico’s national migration agency made a news statement saying it was 67 and not 53. Thus, changing the number to 27 Mexicans, 14 Hondurans, 7 Gutamalems and 2 Salvadorans. The migrants traveled in horrendous conditions. They were huddled together in a claustrophobic trailer without a source of water or even air. The smugglers even covered them in steak seasoning to cease their scent from the dogs at the border. Eventually when the driver left them stranded the temperatures rose to 100+ degrees and many died due to the conditions. Many officials say it was a gruesome site to encounter and couldn’t believe their eyes. The migrants traveled from Mexico to Central America where they were found abandoned in Southwest San Antonio. In total there were 11 survivors who did all that they could to get help doing things such as yelling to get others to hear them. This led to the infuriation of many citizens and an estimate of four nations in disbelief. Later that week Governor Greg Abbott made a statement over the trailer crossing the border. He said that border patrol has no reason to inspect all trucks if they don’t have the resources to do so. Homero Zamorano who is 45 years of age was the man behind the wheel. He completely abandoned the trailer on Interstate 35 and tried to leave the scene. His sister made a statement to the Los Angeles Times stating how Homero did a lot of drugs. “He’s always had an issue, a problem with drugs,” she told the Times. “He’s always in and out of our lives because of that.” Although, Homero wasn’t the only one in on the human trafficking, three other men were also suspected of being involved as well. Their names are the following: Christian Martinez, Juan Claudio D’Luna-Mendez, and Juan Francisco D’Luna- Bilbao. (Their ages range from 23-48). All four men were charged with multiple crimes such as the following. Homero was charged with the smuggling of aliens and all their deaths. He could possibly be facing life in prison or he’ll be convicted to death penalty. The other three men were charged with connections to the crime.
According to Homeland Security officials, this current event has been recorded to be the most deaths in a smuggling attempt in all of the United States of America. This is such an outrage for people all over the world. Many of those human beings were just trying to start a better life for themselves and their families. This has not been the first time this has occurred and it will most likely not be the last. The U.S. government needs to attempt to stop this problem and help immigrants not just from Mexico but from all over the world. Furthermore, immigrants from remote parts of the world are going through the same problems with the government. In places such as Canada, Afghan, and Ukrainian the immigrants are working with the government to get the help they need. The government cooperates with them and hears what they have to say. They don’t just throw money at them and expect the problem to go away. Many countries have been taking a huge step towards resolving immigration. In a recent new article published by The Epoch Times, they made a statement saying, “Afghanistan, El Salvador, Somalia, Ukraine, and Venezuela. Hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, of immigrants from those countries are protected.” The United States is one step ahead. Thankfully they’ve been trying to receive any and all incoming immigrants. Also published in the Epoch Times, “Now, all beneficiaries that return will be “inspected and admitted,” a bureaucratic term that means one has entered the country legally.” They have finally had a strong awakening to how important it is for emigrants to enter the country. Just by letting them enter, the President has saved so many life and helped so many families. Although, many people are not happy about this. They think that emigrants will abuse the power that they are given. Despite the fact that many of those people in the trailer applied for their paperwork and were never able to get ahold of them. Most of them probably wanted to provide income for their family and give their kids a better life. As citizens of the United States of America there’s so much we can do to help. Giving the emigrants a chance is huge improvement. We should be the change we want to see. In doing so we can find ways to come together and speak for those who don’t have a voice.
- Organize fundraisers and donate to the survivors of any trafficking incident
–https://polarisproject.org/fundraise/
–https://www.supporthtsurvivors.org/fundraising-1
- Raise awareness of migrant trafficking on things such as social media: Inform friends and family about what’s going on in the world. Spread the word everywhere you can and tell them just how unjustified our world is.
- Sign or donate to petitions to change the policies on immigration
–https://www.change.org/t/immigration-10
- Join organizations such as UNICEF: UNICEF helps migrants from all around the world. They contribute by keeping families together and assisting them in protecting their rights. They mainly help out migrant children and provide them with resources like a refugee camp. https://www.unicef.org/migrant-refugee-internally-displaced-children
Sources: https://www.texastribune.org/2022/06/29/san-antonio-migrant-smuggling-trailer/
Alyssa Luna – Nazareth Academy – DMSF Class of 2026
Image: Texas Tribune