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Immigrant trapped

This article is one in a series discussing immigration issues through artwork and words, through the eyes of a student.
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The series & assignment

This article is one in a series created by students in Mr. Alex Escamilla's journalism class at Southwest Community Campus. Students were asked to complete artwork and write an article regarding immigration issues in Grand Rapids, and America as a whole. Students worked with artist Reyna Garcia and Grandville Avenue Arts and Humanities to complete artwork that best showed their views on immigration.

 

For more information on the project and those involved, click here.

 

All artwork will be displayed in an upcoming art show, open to the public.

 

Users may vote, comment, share, or tweet these articles up until the art show.  The student whose article and artwork receives the most votes, comments, shares, and tweets will receive a special Rapidian award.

By: Monika S.

An undocumented high schooler's dream to go to college won't come true.

Crystal's story started around 1999. One-year-old Crystal was dying of depression because her grandmother had moved to the United States. Premature Crystal had a low immune system. She was sick all the time and would not eat or drink anything. To add to this tragedy, her mom could not afford the medicine needed for Crystal. Finally, Crystal's mom knew Crystal would die if she stayed in Mexico. So she decided to move with her family to the U.S., with hopes to cure Crystal.

Now Crystal is 13 and healthy. She grew up to be a bright young lady. She has a 3.7 GPA and is an A student. She is also president of the student council, and very active in the community. But now Crystal is growing up, and moving on to high school, with plans of going to college and becoming a psychiatrist.

But now this student's dream can't come true because she is undocumented, with little chance of going to college. This caring friends and family member is unable to follow her dream. She is being trapped and unable to be where she belongs.

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