Over the course of my Asian-American studies, I've read a lot of Hing’s
writings. Usually, it has been very insightful and opened new perspectives for
me. I've often agreed with his points and views. This time, however, I’m
finding it difficult to pick a side.
In his article, Hing describes the deportation of undocumented Asian felons as
unjust. He suggests that the lack of support from traumatized family members,
accepting gangs and various problems in immigrant populations are justification
for these crimes. He says it is unfair to deport these young immigrants.
I agree that deportation is a little extreme. These people are essentially
American. It would be unfair and, frankly, stupid, to send them back to a
country they know nothing about. I believe they should be allowed to stay here,
on the condition that they put every effort into rehabilitation. If they can
agree to that, they could become great assets to America.
However, I hate it when people try to justify crimes with
PTSD or gang influences or even “role reversals.” I’m not heartless. I truly
sympathize with anyone affect by the Indo-China conflict. I realize these
situations were extremely traumatizing and life destroying. I understand the
power a gang has, especially when your home life is all screwy. But there are
literally millions of people who have gone through the same type of trauma and
problems and they come out just fine.
Perhaps this speaks more to the type of help not offered by
American society. We need people trained to deal specifically with trauma of
Indo-China refugees. “American” psychology is drastically different from how
mental health is dealt in Asian cultures. Or, even at the most basic level,
America has to recognize these people need help. It’s the Model Minority Myth
(MMM) again. The MMM suggests all Asians are successful in all aspects of life,
economically, socially and even mentally. America sees the healthy and ignores
the clearly present, but invisible damaged.
Questions:
What
should be done with the undocumented immigrants who have committed felons?
Technically, they don’t have papers and aren’t legally “Americans.” America
doesn’t have any responsibility in these cases. Do you send them back to their
“home” country? Do you send them elsewhere to a third country? Do you keep them
hidden and just choose to not deal with them?
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