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Bringing Wisdom to Light

April 17, 2019

Welcome to the High School Corner!
 
This semester we began studying migration in Humanities. Migration has been an important part of history—without it our very own country would not have been established. It is the building block of our society today. As part of our Current Events class, we have heard several presentations about migration from the Northern Triangle, African countries, and Middle Eastern countries. These presentations raised several questions, some that we were able to answer through class discussions and further research, while other questions required answers from an expert. To answer these more complex questions we thought it would be best to bring in an expert on this topic: Mr. Nathaniel Martinez.
 
Last Friday, we had the pleasure of welcoming Mr. Martinez, an immigration attorney who specializes in--- cases. Some of the questions we asked him were:
 
  1. Under what circumstances can an immigrant be turned away at the border? If they are turned away, what do they do? Turn around and go home?
  2. Is a country’s culture threatened by migration? Is this a reasonable fear for people in countries receiving immigrants to have?
  3. What is the status for climate change/environmental degradation refugees, if there is one at all?
  4. Are employers who employ illegal immigrants currently penalized?
 
Mr. Martinez answered these and other questions by telling us about his personal experience and explaining aspects of this multifaceted issue that do not often appear on the media. We are grateful for this experience as we learned a lot more than we could have from a simple google search. The most impactful part of this discussion was when he told us about a personal story with a woman who had tried to seek asylum in the US for many years. This woman was escaping domestic violence and had brought her daughter with her. After a complex asylum case, Mr. Martinez helped this woman win the case, which allowed her to enter the US as an asylee. This was such a beautiful and inspirational story— there are so many that have to overcome such difficulties. It takes stories like these to make us realize how blessed we are.
 
Thanks for reading this week’s entry, and we hope to see you back next time!
 
Vittoria L. and Sarah L.
High School Corner Committee Members