Millennials have diverse views on immigration in the U.S.

“I believe that people have the right to choose where they want to live,” Treci Butler, junior history and second education major, said. “If the United States does not want people immigrating here, then our government should do a better job of helping the governments in Latin/South America do better.”

With the upcoming election, immigration is a hot topic between all of the presidential candidates, especially their plans on what to do with the unauthorized people in the country.

With approximately 11.5 million undocumented people in the United States, American citizens views of immigration have shifted over time, though some still believe that it is a negative effect on the country while others think it is positive.

Views on immigration, in the United States, are constantly changing. Even for Cabrini students, they have torn feelings on the matter.

“Knowing that there are that many undocumented people is so disheartening,” Sara Smith, junior political science and history major, said. “It makes me think about why are they undocumented- is it money related? Are they afraid of being denied? People are people and should be treated as such. There is no excuse for someone feeling unsafe due to authority exerting their power to intimidate those in lower positions.”

According to Pew Research, the public overall view on deportation is not fully supporting immigration statuses.

72 percent of American citizens think they should have a way to stay legally in the country, while 27 percent were on the opposing side. However, they have found that in years past the greater support was for building some kind of wall around the Mexican border as well as getting rid of birthright citizenship for these people.

“The wall is an absolute ludicrous idea. I don’t even know how to explain how I feel about it,” Smith said.

Due to Donald Trump’s campaign, the talk of building a wall around Mexico has spread throughout the nation and has caused so much controversy between citizens. But is building this wall easy? It will cost billions, have environmental and engineering problems, as well as face the big issue of who is actually going to build it.

“Honestly, I think we live in one world, and that anyone can live wherever they want. The United States’ is one piece of this large world and I love to see more people coming together to coexist in one country,” Butler said.

According to The Opportunity Agenda, the Millennial Generation has an optimistic outlook on immigration. Many Millennials like the idea of having an increase of diversity in the United States because they feel the country benefits from it.

“Sixty percent of Millennials agreed that ‘immigration adds to our character and strengthens the United States because it brings diversity, new workers, and new creative talent to this country’ while only 33 percent said that ‘immigration detracts from our character and weakens the United States because it puts too many burdens on government services, causes language barriers, and creates housing problems,’” The Opportunity Agenda Reported in 2012.

Attending Cabrini University has really swayed students’ opinions on immigration. With Mother Cabrini being the patron saint of immigrants, some want to help carry out her mission to help others.

“The more I learn about Mother Cabrini, the more I think I came to Cabrini for a reason. Mother Cabrini is still helping today; her image is shaping so many people into being what she was. It’s so incredible and she is a remarkable woman,” Smith said.

The work she has done for others has really made an impact on students.

“I believe Mother Cabrini saw the wrongdoings in the other countries, which is why she implemented health care, jobs, education, etc, in these other countries, and it makes me proud to represent her,” Butler said.