What Can Be Done to Alleviate America’s Immigration Crisis?
Monday, August 13, 2018
The recent shocking
images of children in cages brought home the reality of the immigration crisis
that the United States is currently facing. With a government that looks on immigration negatively,
immigrants are finding it increasingly more difficult to get into the US legally and
safely. It is a situation that has been blown out of proportion and continues the efforts to make it harder for immigrants including refugees.
This leaves individual citizens positioned to be the driving force to help make a difference. What can be done to help aid in making it easier
for immigrants to have decent lives in the US. How can we as individual citizens help?
Support individuals and
families in your community
Ask ten of your friends,
and it is likely that one of them knows an immigrant person or family. Mundane
items are hard to access for these people that often live in poverty. Even simple
hygiene items such as toilet paper are sometimes unaffordable. You can help set
up an assistance center where you and your friends can donate these items.
Volunteer
New immigrants into the
US sometimes face language barrier challenges making it hard to access public
service. The most important thing for them is to learn English as quick as
possible to have access job interviews and other livelihood opportunities.
Volunteering as an English tutor can be very helpful.
Donate to organizations
helping immigrants
When the president
announced the first travel ban, a number of organizations rushed to help
immigrants at airports. There are about 300 organizations working with
immigrants across the US. You contact them for advice on how to channel your
donations. The Refugee Council USA keeps a register of organizations working
with immigrants. The donations can be in cash or in-kind. Old clothes,
furniture, sports gear and other stuff that you don’t need could be very useful
to these people who cannot afford them.
Support immigrant
enterprises
There are a number of
projects by immigrants that are listed on crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe. Look for
one that interests you, has a great need and good potential to support immigrant causes. Crowdfunding
sites make it easy to donate and support worthy causes.
Be a friend
It can be a bit awkward
at first because of the language barrier and cultural differences, but making
friends with immigrants can be a very enriching experience. Hello Neighbor is
a website that can help you connect to an immigrant near you. We all must learn to make friends, discuss challenges and get to know each other to help one another live our most productive lives.
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