Her presentation was filled with harrowing tales of lost limbs, running from crooked cops and violent gangs and years spent searching for a family.
In a speech last month to Elon University students and staff, author and journalist Sonia Nazario shed light on one of the more contentious facets of current American political discourse: illegal immigration.
But rather than focusing on the effects of immigration on the United States, Nazario took the audience on a journey of another sort. She detailed her experiences traveling with a Honduran boy on his search for a mother who had left to find work in the United States.
"I've written about immigrants for two decades, but there were some things I didn't get about this issue until this journey," said Nazario, who comes from a family of immigrants herself.
There's a fine line between demonization and humanization, as Nazario pointed out, a theme that can be seen throughout the varying responses from state governments.
Earlier this year, South Carolina joined the ranks of Arizona, Alabama and others when Gov. Nikki Haley signed into law an anti-immigration bill requiring law enforcement officials and hiring businesses to check immigration status when encountering individuls who they suspect to be illegal. But there's no clear definition of this concept, and the ACLU is currently suing the state over the matter.
Meanwhile, this month in California, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a version of the DREAM Act, granting certain undocumented immigrants access to state financial aid at public universities and community colleges.
It's clear that a consensus has yet to be reached, begging the question, where do we go from here?
Instead of attempting to prevent the flow of immigrants into this country, policies should aim to build positive outcomes from the situation. Undocumented immigrants are not going away, so why not give them the opportunity to not only better their own lives, but that of the country to which they have come?
Money from the DREAM Act, under the California law, is available only to those who can prove they are on the path to becoming legal citizens of the United States. Granting access to such funds only serves to encourage immigrants to continue their pursuit of legalization and become productive, contributing members of society.
It is not enough to simply use state policies to brush the issue under the rug and attempt to force immigrants into hiding. By investing in their future and potential, we are likewise investing in our own, as a unified nation.