Debates surrounding immigration in the United States often lump migrants into a single subgroup. There is an assumption that every immigrant's experience revolves around the same story of seeking better opportunities in a new country.
While these broad strokes can summarize many families’ stories, there is so much more to their journeys. Three University of Wisconsin-Madison students tell The Daily Cardinal their stories of immigration from three different countries.
Haia Al Zein’s family left Baghdad Iraq to move to the U.S. when she was six years old. The Iraq War was making it difficult to stay. Their home was so close to bombings that her bottom lip would rattle and her eyes would widen out of fear. Haia’s parents decided it was best to take their three children and leave the country. They ended up on the Southside of Milwaukee. They never returned to Iraq.
Haia never felt like her nationality defined her, as she is surrounded by many other kids with immigrant backgrounds. Not having her background constantly be highlighted made way for another important part of her life, education.
“I never felt different or had to hide myself. I just never felt like I had to bring [my nationality] up, which is a privilege within itself,” she said.
Eventually, Haia attended University of Wisconsin-Madison as a journalism and legal studies student.She said education has been the greatest opportunity she received after coming to the U.S. and plans to pursue law school after her undergraduate studies.
However, something changed when Haia arrived in Madison to attend University of Wisconsin-Madison as a journalism and legal studies student. She started to get treated differently because of her background. Attending a predominantly white institution made her realize she could not be complacent when it came to how she was perceived by others.
Haia doesn’t claim to be an activist but feels the need to speak out for herself and others, especially when she knows she wouldn’t be allowed to back in Iraq. This became a more prominent aspect of her life after witnessing pro-Palestine encampment protests on campus and the reelection of President Donald Trump.
“Advocating for basic human rights should not be seen as someone being an activist.”
She feels like Arabs in the United States are often under a microscope. That negative or fearful attitudes towards Arabs are misguided due to media interpretations. Haia wishes for the state Legislature and university to enact protections for this community like they have done for others.
Haia became more involved with the university’s Middle Eastern North African cultural group and the Associated Students of Madison . Through these organizations, she became increasingly aware of how the administration treated issues facing white minority groups versus others.
Although she is outspoken about UW-Madison’s negative treatment of MENA students, she still loves the school. She has made lasting connections with teaching faculty, friends and co-workers. She says that the critiques aim to help foster a better relationship between the university and students of color.
Isidora Andrick’s family were accidental refugees. Her grandparents and mother were visiting her uncle in college when the Yugoslav Wars started. They took one of the last flights out of the country.
“[My mother] likes to say that her old life ended when she was 22 and her new life began at that same age.”
When raising Isidora, her parents instilled respect towards elder family members. Her father is a first generation Yugoslavian immigrant, and still raised her in an “eastern home.” One of the only things that made her feel different growing up was celebrating Christmas on Jan. 7, because they are Orthodox Christian.
Isidora is now a sophomore studying communication sciences and disorders at UW-Madison. She gravitates to other first generation immigrant students. She says that the shared experiences growing up allowed her to find a community.
Isidora feels as though current discourse around immigration is needless. She wishes people saw more humanity in the struggles that people are facing that drive them to come to the U.S. She views immigrants as the backbone of the economy, working as house cleaners and bussers at restaurants — jobs her family first took when arriving in the United States.
“Immigrants are alienated and dehumanized in the media a lot. It’s fear mongering.”
Isidora views the topic as a scapegoat for other systemic problems that face the country.
“The best way to get people to go against something is to scare them. To tell them that it’s gonna come for them and come for their families. It’s almost like an oxymoron because the people that are coming here are families.”
Before Carminia Carmona was born, her parents met and got married in the U.S. Her father was an American citizen while her mother was a citizen of Mexico. She moved back for five years while going through the process to obtain residency. Carminia was born during this time and resided in Mexico for five years.
When she arrived in the U.S., her family lived in South Beloit, Illinois. Carminia attended English second language classes in elementary school. Reading English wasn’t a skill that she developed until third grade.
Her early years in education are by no means an indication of the future. Carmina enrolled in a head start program in high school and earned an associate’s degree before graduating. She is now a sophomore at UW-Madison. Carminia is studying political science, history, philosophy and Chicano/a & Latino/a studies. Carmina plans to attend law school.
At UW-Madison, Carminia shared her cultural experiences with other children of immigrants. She rarely experienced her Mexican culture outside of her home growing up. While with these groups, she found friends that not only share the same background but same ideals.
“Mexican culture is very conservative. So I don’t share a lot of political views. I know a lot of Latinos that are against or want strict immigration.”
Her parents volunteer as immigrant outreachers to provide that help. Seeing her parents be so selfless has had a huge influence on her pursuit of law school. Carminia hopes current discussions on immigration will lead to people actively listening to immigrant struggles. She thinks positive changes will come when people talk about these difficult topics.
