The Daily Pennsylvanian is a student-run nonprofit.

Please support us by disabling your ad blocker on our site.

trump
Credit: Courtesy of Creative Commons

Adding to the long list of Republican presidential hopefuls, 1968 Wharton alumnus Donald Trump announced his candidacy on June 17, taking a punch not just at Obama and his adversaries, but also at Mexicans.

Claiming the United States has become “the dumping grounds for everybody else’s problems,” Trump accused our southern neighbor of “not sending their best.” Referring to Mexicans, the business real estate mogul stated, “They’re bringing drugs. They are bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” He went on to say that should he be elected president, he would have a wall built to separate the U.S. and Mexico on Mexico’s dime. Though comments like these aren’t exactly outlandish among the more right-wing conservatives , the fact that such derogatory and xenophobic comments are still being thrown around matters.

A part of the largest and fastest growing demographic group, people of Mexican origin totaled approximately 33.7 million in 2012 according to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center. About one-third of this group — 11.4 million — is comprised of Mexican-born immigrants, while the remaining two-thirds are U.S.-born and self-identify as Hispanics of Mexican origin. I myself identify as the latter.

My parents emigrated from Mexico to the United States in search of a better life and opportunity. In 1979, my father — like many other Mexican men at the time — migrated to the U.S. on a farm worker’s visa. He worked in the fields of California, from grape picking in Napa Valley to picking peaches and plums in Fresno. Although he earned far below minimum wage, taxes were still extracted from his already low paycheck.

In 1986, the Immigration Reform and Control Act under the Reagan administration was signed into law, legalizing the status of many undocumented immigrants, including farm workers from Mexico. My father qualified for this amnesty and received lawful permanent resident status. My mother migrated to the country soon after.

Over the years, without a college education, my parents have remained a part of the working class, juggling multiple jobs at times to raise a family of six. Growing up, my three siblings and I learned to work hard and take advantage of the opportunities available to us as American citizens. My siblings and I are in the first generation in my family to attend and graduate college. Many Mexicans and their families living in the United States today share this story.

And so, naturally, I was awestruck when I heard Donald Trump offend me, my family and the millions of hardworking Mexicans that came and continue to come to this country — despite xenophobic policies and a broken immigration system — in the pursuit of happiness and opportunity. I could feel the resentment in his voice. I began to ask myself why anyone would have such built-up anger against a group of people from which stems my identity, and the pinnacle reason behind my motivation to succeed at a premier institution such as Penn. But amid this confusion, I felt a surge of motivation unlike anything I had felt before.

Since freshman year, I have been involved with Penn for Immigrant Rights, the only immigrant rights advocacy group on campus. One of the many goals of this organization is to raise awareness among our peers about immigrant rights in this country, including what it means to be undocumented. Most of our executive board is of Mexican origin. I have found solace working alongside advocates and activists to dispel the very misconceptions about Mexicans and other immigrants that too many people like Trump relentlessly propagate.

So no, Trump, I think you have a couple things wrong here. These people you call drug-dealing criminals and rapists are the people working endless hours under the scorching sun picking the fruits and vegetables on your silver platter, the maintenance staff cleaning your mansions and penthouses, the construction people building your hotels and resorts, and the parents of students receiving the same Ivy League education you and currently one of your daughters is pursuing. But most of all, thank you for inspiring me and other young activists everywhere to keep fighting against the egregious stereotypes defining our families and the very people I would love to see you try to run your empire without.

YESSENIA MORENO is a rising College senior from North Las Vegas studying political science. Her email address is ymoreno@sas.upenn.edu. 

Comments powered by Disqus

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.