Dear Alabama
0By Maria I.
Dear Alabama
If you’re an undocumented student like me, finding a prom date is the least of your problems. It’s figuring what you’re going to do afterwards that really matters. But let’s put this matter to the side for a bit and focus on a new bill Alabama is trying to pass. I love the name by the way; “Alabama Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act” because of course the only obvious way to protect Alabama’s citizens is to prevent undocumented students from going to prom and joining school sports. Who knows what kind of havoc they may wreak on their wild baseball adventures.
If you haven’t heard about this bill, it’s sort of similar to the Arizona SB 1070. However this one gets pretty extreme. It’s called a “job’s bill” by its supporter Scott Beason but I’m pretty sure that prohibiting high school kids from joining the National Honor Society has nothing to do with jobs. And it does not stop here, what if you’re a football superstar? Well, too bad! Undocumented students cannot participate in any extracurricular activities outside of regular academic work.
It’s sad that we are no longer surprised at the fact that every day more and more states are trying to criminalize undocumented immigrants. If someone looks “illegal” then they certainly must be. And I am sure American kids will obviously recognize and point out their undocumented peers as they’re getting down on the prom dance floor.
But this is not what bothers me the most. I don’t know about you, but even though it really upsets me, I like to read the comments that people write. Most of them are clichéd by now, “Stop milking the system”, “You’re stealing our jobs” and similar phrases that I’ve learned to ignore. But this time people’s reactions were different.
People call this new bill hypocritical and “mean-spirited”. Yes America it’s true!! It’s mean to prevent undocumented students from going to prom but it’s completely acceptable to deny them the right to a college education. I’m not trying to criticize the readers who disagree with this bill; I’m simply highlighting its redundancy.
We should not deny undocumented kids the right to play football in high school or join the drama club, but when they want to go on to college and become actors or play college football it’s a completely different story. All of the sudden undocumented students supposedly milk the system and steal tax payer’s money. I wonder how much money the parents of these undocumented students are contributing to this same system without getting any benefits. How is that for mean spirited?
Related Stories:
http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/05/alabama-anti-immigration-bill-beason
