Land of the free?

Just recently, the 45th president of the United States of America was sworn into office. A familiar and certainly meme-worthy face, Donald J. Trump, is now the leader of our nation. With a celebrity taking office, it’s safe to say we knew it would be dramatic, and he’s delivered quite a performance so far. On his first day in office, the new president began to follow through with two of his major campaign promises.

Let’s start with the border wall. The massive structure is expected to be at least 1,300 miles long and 40 feet high, according to CNN Money. The total cost of the project is still uncertain. During his campaign, President Trump promised that Mexico would pay for it, but said later that Americans would pay for it and Mexico would reimburse the United States.

“I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I’ll build them very inexpensively–I will build a great, great wall on our southern border,” he said. “And, I will have Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words.”

Yet, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto has said that Mexico has no intentions of paying for the structure. So, now we ask ourselves, what is the truth?

Continuing on the topic of immigration, Trump has suspended the resettlement of Syrian refugees and is temporarily banning “immigrants and nonimmigrants” from seven Muslim nations from entering the U.S.  The ban sparked many protests, including a massive one at JFK Airport in Queens, N.Y.

In this day and age, social media is the go to place to vent for or against everything. It’s no surprise that after the recent news, Twitter was a safe haven for opinions. One of those came from former Mexican President Vicente Fox. Fox said that Mexico was indeed not going to pay for the wall and, with a single tweet, the hashtag he created, “F——Wall,” became a trending topic.

Big-name celebrities such as Seth Rogen, Chrissy Teigen, Kerry Washington and icon Kim Kardashian West all took to social media to show their disapproval of the president’s Muslim ban. The Twitter world was in complete chaos.

As the daughter of immigrants, the news of our president’s executive orders hit home. Do I believe that there are bad people trying to come into the country that so many of us call home? Yes and no.

It doesn’t seem logical to say that every single person coming to the U.S. has good intentions, but I am sure that the vast majority of immigrants come here in search of a better life. I have asked my father many times why he decided to leave his beautiful home country to come to America. His answer is always the same, “for you.”

Building a wall or not allowing the entry of somebody who practices a certain religion will not keep immigrants out. When you are fleeing from danger and hardship for your family, you find a way. Instead of instilling fear and claiming that people from a certain country are evil, why not embrace the fact that your country is still seen as a better place? America is still seen as a place where opportunity lives and thrives. The thought of people wanting a better life for their loved ones and being denied that right is heartbreaking.

Whenever I cross over to Mexico to visit my family, I always stop and think of how fortunate I am to be able to come and go so freely. My parents sacrificed so much to give me the life that I have now.

The whole point of America is to have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It’s unfair to deny people those basic American rights.