By Rokeya Sumi 

Writer/Reporter 

Why do people willingly leave their country? Why do they choose an uncertain life in another land? Why do they choose to become an immigrant?  These are the questions that may be in the mind of much of the citizenry right now, not only America, but also the whole world where people were born with no economic imbalance, no political selfishness, and no worries about basic needs. The people who are from third-world countries know the reality and answers to these questions.  We know how to live with hunger, we know how to be helpless in your own country not to get a better job for surviving, we know how to be mashed by political situations when we ask for our basic needs to be met. No one leaves their motherland just to have a burger or pizza. It is more than that. An immigrant sacrifices their life, family, and culture to obtain their human rights. The right to get better opportunities, to have a proper meal in peace, to find security of life, and to get educated.  

However, they obtain all these opportunities by accepting every challenge. They never think their life will be easy in another country, but they take the risk just to live a better life and give their children a better future. According to the Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau information from 2024, the total immigrant population in America is 51.9 million who have also made great contributions to the American economy.  

These people who identified as immigrants in the U.S. come from different countries of the world. The report said, by mid 2023, around 11 million residents, representing 22% of the total immigrant population in the U.S. came from Mexico. The second largest immigration group was from the Asian subcontinent (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan) who totaled around 3.2 million people, or 6% of the immigrant population living in U.S. However, the rest of the people came from a variety of countries like China, the Philippines, Cuba, etc.  

In the normal perspective, America helps them come her and establish a life, but America is also the beneficiary. Immigrants increase the population and development of the U.S. economy. These immigrants also contribute to every sector in the U.S. economy, like medical, hospitality, business, education, and many others. Some immigrants even send their children who were born in the U.S. into the military to express their love of this country.   

I am an immigrant who came to the U.S. to obtain my education in the world’s best country with lots of anxiety, expectations, and unknown challenges. I left my country, my family, and my culture to get a better future for my kids, for my next generation.  It was not only my husband and I, but also my five-year-old daughter who faced many difficulties just as we did. We, the immigrant come here to make our dream into a reality by working hard, hour after hour. We survive here in any weather, good or bad. We make your culture our own. We are immigrants who have learned your language so that we can be global citizens. We share our culture with you. We pay taxes on every paycheck and every purchase.  

But at the end of the day, we are just immigrants. In this 21st century, where we are talking about globalization, why do we need to prove that we are humans who have the right to choose the country we want to live?