My message: Improve education for immigrants

Dear future president,

My parents came into this country as immigrants from Mexico but didn’t get many opportunities. My parents had to live with my aunt because they didn’t have a social security number to apply for jobs, apartments, buy cars or drive. They couldn’t travel either.  Their problems affected me growing up.

My parents both worked, my dad was a construction worker and my mom had a job for a while as a dishwasher, until she fell and couldn’t get a job. I was affected by this because I rarely saw my parents.

We had to go places on the bus because my parents didn’t have a driver’s license. My parents struggled with English. When we went to different places and there wasn’t anyone who spoke Spanish; I had to translate for them and I still do.

I became very independent with my homework as a child because my parents didn’t understand directions, or as I grew older, they couldn’t really help me because they didn’t finish high school. My mom didn’t finish her sophomore year, and my dad didn’t finish his senior year.

I ask you to help my parents and all Hispanic immigrants. Many people come to the United States to provide their children with a better life than the one they grew up with, like my parents. But how can you live a better life if you can’t even rent a home for your family without having a stable job, social security card, or even speak English?

I hope you realize this is not just a problem my family went through. I hope you can give them the opportunities to get a social security or help them get a better education.  I believe you will make the right choice and help immigrants in the United States.

Sincerely,

Fatima Hernandez

St. Genevieve High School

Los Angeles, Calif.