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Third I�I�� -�—�� Fllie Wilson � � ��' Grade ��f � RAMS Mr. �ib�a�;� Human Rights Essay 2006-2007 � � � Last night, while worl�ing on this essay, I started to imagine an immigration experience. I imagined my family and I on a small raft we had built to cross to America lil{e some families from Cuba still do today. What if we had to leave family behind because we didn't have enough room or enough food? What if my younger brother Peter, the most Ioveable and happy child, but the most vulnerable, died on the way to America? What if I survived and no one else did? Or, what if, after overcomingall of the dangerous, life- threatening, depressing, and stressful obstacles, we finally made it but found out we were considered undocumented, illegal immigrants and were sent back to were we came from? Or, what if we were actually accepted for who we were and let into the country that we understood was founded on human rights? Then, I thought about my great-grandfather Martin Sorenson coming through Ellis Island from Denmark in 1920 when he was 19 years old and my great-grandmotherMartha coming through Ellis Island from Germany in 1920 when she was 19 years old as well. Immigration worked for them. They met each other in Nebraska where they settled and started a family. Many years later I was laoar�n. into that family and have enjoyed many stories and a rich cultural tradition. I have met many relatives who have either immigrated to America or who have visited us. I feel connected to other areas of the world and care greatly about safety and peace in the world so everyone can stay safe. People flee their countries for many reasons. Some immigrants come under their own volition to provide a safer and more promising life for themselves and their children. Other immigrants were forced to come to America as slaves or indentured servants. Slaves had little or no human rights. Even when they were freed, they were still discriminatedagainst. The Europeans that came to America as indentured servants were committed to work for the person that had paid for their journey, for seven years or more. Then their employer would give them money or land to start a new life for themselves. This year at the Minnesota State Fair, I picked up a button that stood out to me having in my mind my human rights essay. It said "Immigration Fuels Our Nation" and listed this w�bsite: www.ener�_y_ofanation. I went to the we�site and learned that our immigration policies and laws have developed over the past 200 years. In 1790, the NaturalizationAct began to limit immigration by saying that "Any alien being a free white person, may be admitted to become a citizen of the United States." Immigration doubled the �.T,�,' � population between the years of 1800 and 1900. By 1850 immigrants from places like Norway, Sweden, Ireland, and Germany had settled in America. These immigrants worked in the factories, farmed, and helped our overall economy grow. In the mid to late 1 S00's, our government started limiting immigration by setting quotas for each country and the U.S. government became responsible for inspecting, admitting, or rejecting all who wanted to come into the U.S. Immigration stations like Ellis Island were set up to "process" the immigrants. Today, depending upon their status, immigrants may not get full rights to things like health care and education. Some people want to limit immigration even more by blocl�ing illegal immigrants with laws and policies such as the Secure Fence Act. They want to send illegal immigrants currently living here, back to their homelands. Other people want to create more options and opportunities for immigrants to enter the U.S. legally and become citizens with the same human rights that we have. I think we should open up the possibility for immigration even more because I want everyone who may be in tough situations to feel like