Do you think that the government is acting appropriately or are the children, currently residing at the U.S border, being treated unfairly?

SYLVIA WINSTON
Features Editor

While some of us were at the beach having the time of our lives this summer, a group of young children migrated to the United States to fight to conserve their lives. Throughout the months of June and July an overload of immigrant children has resided at the U.S border in search of a new life in this country. Nearly 63,000 children have been caught crossing the United States border alone since October — double last year’s number. President Obama has called the surge an “urgent humanitarian situation,” and lawmakers have called for hearings on the crisis. The current debate stands whether these innocent children should be given the chance to remain in Home-Sweet America or is the government acting appropriately sending them back…

“It’s a good thing [that the children are being sent back]. One, if they’re here, they’re illegal [immigrants]. I would stay [in their home country] if I were them. I think the government should send them back mainly because […] they don’t have the full citizen benefits, and the government should send them home because […] if you want to come to America, you’d better come legally.” – Steven Huang, sophomore

“I do think [the children] are being treated unfairly. I especially do not like how the public has been informed; it leaves space for speculation. The way these innocent children are being treated is bad because the government is forgetting that they are in fact children and not criminals.” – Elisa Martinez, junior

“I don’t think the government is acting appropriately. Most of the time they don’t even do background checks [on the people who enter this country]. They have this stereotype and believe immigrants cause trouble. [The children]just want a better life, a better opportunity.” – Alejandro Zuniga, senior

“Mainly [the situation]is unfair; I genuinely feel bad for [the children]. Their parents should not send them, [the children] should not have to deal with any of it.” -Kiyomi Takemoto, senior

“[The children] should be sent back to their guardians who can take care of them… If [parents] want the children to be safe, then [the children]should not be put in those situations.” -Candace Ahumada, freshman

Information gathered by:
REBECCA ZENG, DEREK WU, PAULA KIRYA and SYLVIA WINSTON