In paragraph 28 Nguyen stated “I would like to make a broad, accurate statement about immigrant children in schools. I would like to speak for them (us). I hesitate; I cannot.” I think that it would be good for Nguyen to tell her story. Although Nguyen shouldn’t make a statement for the other immigrant children because she can’t speak on others’ situations. Immigrant children have a different experience so it won’t make sense that she speaks on something she doesn’t have the knowledge of. Nguyen tells us her story how her dad married her step mom and  that they moved into a “middle class suburban Grand Rapids’’. Not every immigrant child gets that lucky. Nguyen and her sister came to America not knowing how to speak English which is very common for immigrants. She mentions being in third grade and looking different than everyone else. “Thus I attended school in such ensembles as dark red parachute pants and a nubby pink sweater stitched with a picture of a unicorn rearing up.” Surely she is ashamed of having less than others and tries to put her energy on obtaining the stuffed lion. She described how her sister and her are opposite. Growing up she noticed that it’s the same for immigrants and that’s the reason she can’t make a broad statement. She was more ashamed than embracing her culture so it doesn’t really fit an immigrant child. She rather speaks English than her native language. Nguyen didn’t even know her history and was embarrassed about it. At that moment school wasn’t her save place like she bragged about. “ I reassure  myself that they will grow up free, they will be okay.” Nguyen had stated this after describing ‘the kids with heads bent down’. She makes it seem like she has it all and wants to comfort herself in the idea that other immigrants will have a great experience.

I can understand when Bich Nguyen says she would like to make a broad, accurate statement about immigrant children in schools, to speak on their behalf, but cannot. I mean, how could she possibly?
In seeing her point of view, it can be agreed that immigrant children across America suffer at the hands of scrutiny as well as being separated and set apart from who the typical All-American model student ought to be. No matter how brilliant and accomplished you are in school one just never seems to measure up. As much as Nguyen would like to be an advocate on behalf of immigrant children in schools she can’t, simply because each immigrant child has a different, painstaking story to tell.
What a Vietnamese student may have to endure may not be exactly what a Mexican student has to deal with, but it is all still discriminatory and oppressive the same. To be considered as less than, not good enough, or ‘up to standard’ because one is from a foreign country, English not being one’s first language, and not having the skin color of the ‘golden’ American child. Immigrant do tend to suffer the same fate, share a common struggle yet varying experiences in the sense that some were tougher both physically and emotionally (or one or the other). The other set may have chosen to rebel against the system if it didn’t work for them. Some children would go as far as not accepting or recognizing their heritage and identity. While others, just like Nguyen, only wanted to disappear into the scene, going unnoticed so as to avoid being placed under a microscope just to be marginalized and scrutinized.

There is a negative connotation that the terms “undocumented immigrants” and “illegal aliens” have. A lot of people when they hear the words immigrants and aliens they automatically think of people who are living in the United States illegally.  “Undocumented immigrants” and “illegal aliens” refers to people from other countries that live in the United States, who don’t have the required forms. In “Outlaw: My Life in America as an Undocumented Immigrant,” it states,”I grew more aware of anti-immigrant sentiments and stereotypes… They’re not talking to me, I would tell myself. I have something to contribute.” This shows that there was many stereotypes about immigrants. Stereotypes and comments can be hurtful, discouraging, and can cause immigrants to feel like they’re not important. Vargas didn’t let any stereotype, negative comment affect him while he was trying to achieve his American Dream. In “Outlaw: My Life in America as an Undocumented Immigrant,” it also states, “I’ve created a good life. I’ve lived the American Dream. But I am still undocumented.” Even though Jose Antonio Vargas didn’t have the required forms to become a legal citizen of the United States, he still was able to live his life similarly to any other American and even achieved the American Dream. He had many great accomplishments. He “graduated from high school and college and built a career as a journalist.” He worked at subway and had other jobs, during high school. Later on, he ended up working at the Huffington Post and had other great opportunities. People shouldn’t refer to Vargas and others in his situation as an illegal, as an alien because those words can be hurtful or used in a hurtful way. The words illegal and alien can cause people to feel like they’re strange, when all they want is a better life for themselves and for their families in the United States. People in Vargas’ situation should be called undocumented immigrants or undocumented humans because those are respectful terms. People should always respect undocumented humans, undocumented immigrants because they have feelings, make sacrifices, work, and go to school just like any other person living in the United States.

In the text “Outlaw: My Life in America as an Undocumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio Vargas, it states the power and connotations of the words “undocumented immigrants” and “illegal aliens”. These words hold connotations and power in their own way. As stated in paragraph 11, the author felt anxiety and guilt when talks of “illegal immigrants” began. These words make those seeking asylum seem like criminals and mischievous people. Also cited in paragraph 46 the author speaks about how his fears of the label illegal immigrant has scared him so much he had to inform his employers about his citizenship status. These labels create division and put targets on the backs of those that come here seeking a better life. I believe the word migrant would be a better term to address Jose and those in his situations. The word migrant means “a person who moves from one place to another, especially in order to find work or better living conditions”. This word better suits those in Jose’ situation because it depicts an accurate image of people seeking a better life. This country was built on migration. People left their native countries and came here for better living conditions and to escape any challenges faced in their home countries. Migrants deserve to be treated equally and be allowed asylum based on their reasons for coming here. The terms illegal immigrants and undocumented immigrants create a narrative that those coming here are undeserving and are committing foul crimes. That is how powerful those words are.

In “The Good Immigrant Student” by Bich Minh Nguyen, she talks about her experiences as an immigrant. Throughout her life, Nguyen felt out of place, especially in school, due to being a refugee from Saigon. In paragraph 26, she says, “I would like to make a broad, accurate statement about immigrant children in schools. I would like to speak for them (us). I hesitate; I cannot.” Nguyen cannot make a broad statement about immigrant children in schools because every immigrant child went through their own unique experiences. The experiences that the author went through are not the same as the experiences that other children of similar status have gone through. In paragraph 26, Nguyen states, ” My own sister, for instance, was never as shy as I was. Anh disliked school from the start, choosing rebellion rather than silence.” Clearly, this shows how even though they come from a similar background, the author’s experiences differ from her sister’s since Nguyen was quiet and shy in school while her sister didn’t like school and was more rebellious. In paragraph 7, she also states, “If it was my turn to read aloud during reading circle, she’d interrupt me to snap… things she did not do to the other students.” This further shows how the author’s experiences differ from the others. Because Nguyen was seen as different and it was clear that she was new to the country, she was given a hard time due to her foreign status. Rather than receiving help from others, Nguyen would be treated differently making her envy those who were rebellious.

In “The Good Immigrant Student” by Bich Minh Nguyen, the author shares her experience of being an immigrant and going to school. She writes about some of the trouble she faced, with students and even one of her teachers. She also talks about coming out of her shell a little more towards the end. In paragraph 28, Nguyen states, “I would like to make a broad, accurate statement about immigrant children in schools. I would like to speak for them (us). I hesitate, I cannot”. What I think she means by this statement is that yes, she would love to speak for all immigrant children that go to school and their experiences, but Nguyen can’t because even though she did not have the best experience with school, does not mean that the next immigrant student did not as well. Everyone has different experiences in life and different forms of reactions towards them. She can’t make a “broad, accurate statement” because she doesn’t know everyone’s experience, and she can’t just base that statement on her own life. She even states that she and her sisters’ experiences were different, as well. “My own sister, for instance, was never as shy as I was. Anh dislikes school from the start, choosing rebellion rather than silence.” Bich, with her experiences in school, was never the one to speak out, unlike her sister. This example alone shows how different everyone and their experiences are, so having just one person speak for all would not make sense. 

The “Good Immigrant Student” sets a tone on how challenging it is to adapt from an immigrant, to American. Immigrating to the “nation of immigrants” can be difficult, as Bich Minh Nguyen who moved away from Saigon, spent her days trying to figure out what “all American” meant. Her family moved to the Grand Rapids with five dollars to spare. Staying at a rental house gifted by Mr. Heidenga, the family was always keen on staying away from the police’s line of vision. Just imagine the difficulty on that. Not only are you trying to adapt to the new living conditions, (earning money, learning English, etc) but you also have to stay away from any intruders who can raise the alarm. For Bich and her sister, they were already “Americanized.” They were learning the English language and watching television (assuming that the things that they were watching were in English). For other immigrant kids, they did not wish to learn the new language. Immigrant families were fearful that they would lose their roots by learning English. Most of the kids had no trouble of leading a double life where they could speak their native language at home and English outside. For Bich, that was not the case. She couldn’t handle being double-faced. This is what I think she means when she says, “I would like to make a broad, accurate statement about immigrant children in schools. I would like to
speak for them (us). I hesitate; I cannot.” Nguyen is trying to come up with a conclusion about immigrant children in schools but fails to do so because although she is among the immigrants, she leads a life that is different from the other immigrants. The others adapted, others rebelled, but Nguyen was one of those people that moved around in silence. According to the text, Nguyen states that, “My own sister,
for instance, was never as shy as I was — she chose rebellion rather than silence.” Furthermore she says, “Because I couldn’t disappear into a crowd, I wished to between being good and being unnoticed..” This shows the difference between her and how she wanted to “disappear” to those who were outspoken. Nguyen wanted to balance her way of living between being someone who has some sort of success in her life, to not being exposed in an immigrant crowd.

Throughout the passage Outlaw: My Life in America as an Undocumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio Vargas the terms “undocumented immigrants and “ilegal aliens” have been used. The term undocumented immigrant is to be considered an alien who has been granted the rights by the USCIS to permanently be in the U.S while an ilegal alien is wether a person is an immigrant, visitor, or someone who has gotten through the border without going through customs or immigration. These are terms used by the government to describe those who came to the U.S with the proper documentation and or authorization. The passage describes Jose Antonio’s situation where he was brought over to the U.S by a coyote, a person who smuggles undocumented immigrants to the united states. He was bought when he was 12 because his mother wanted to give him a better life but came to the U.S. with no proper documentation. Jose slowly started to realize he was an undocumented immigrant. One situation arose where Jose rode his bike to the DMV and unknowingly presented a false green card. Various situations like these were presented where a passport, license, green card or social security was needed for certain things he wanted to do. The term undocumented immigrant can be used to describe varargs and others in his situation. Terminology becomes  very important because no human is “illegal” on stolen land, there are various other terms that can be used instead of “illegal” such as undocumented immigrants or non citizens. If people are being referred as illegal, illegal alien, wetbacks and more it is very inhuman and dehumanizing.

“Outlaw: My Life in America as an Undocumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio Vargas, conveys a story of being an unwanted immigrant. Vargas was sent away from the Philippines by his mother hoping that he will create a better life. While he knew it was possible, he struggled with fear and anxiety. Many Americans refer to words as, “illegal alien” and “undocumented immigrants” with the same connotation; The migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration law. When I hear the word “illegal alien”, I automatically think of a negative connotation. Identifying someone as illegal and an alien is wrong. Illegal alien means that someone has invaded our country and has done something terribly wrong. While, “Undocumented immigrant” is a proper way of referring to someone who has migrated to another country that does not have the proper documents in order to identify as a citizen. Someone like Vargas should not be labeled as an “illegal alien”. Vargas has not done anything harmful to be labeled as illegal. In other words, he should be identified the proper way, an “undocumented immigrant”. Vargas mentions, “This was devastating. What good was college if I couldn’t help pursue the career I wanted?” Vargas comes here to create a better life, although, they don’t give him the opportunity to pursue his dreams. Vargas thought that if he worked enough and if he achieved enough, he would be rewarded with a citizenship. However, Vargas was unaware of how American citizenships work. He goes on explaining that Americans tend to have a certain attitude towards undocumented immigrants. Vargas mentions, “We’re not always who you think we are. Some pick your strawberries or care for your children. Some are in high school or college.” Immigrants come here to do the jobs other Americans don’t want to do. They do construction, dishwashing, baby-sitters, farming etc. Undocumented immigrants come here to create a better life, to pursue their dreams—just how some of our family members did. For this, they do not deserve to be labeled as an “illegal alien”, instead an “Undocumented immigrant.”

The terms “undocumented immigrants” and “illegal aliens” are two phrases to describe people that come to the United States without legal documentation.  Although they are similar, they are different in describing people. An undocumented immigrant is a way to describe someone that came from another country but does not have the proper documents and papers to live in this country. An illegal alien is a harsher way of saying that implying that because someone isn’t from this country they are not human or they are an alien. The second term is a lot more offensive.

In the text, ” Outlaw: My Life in America as an Undocumented Immigrant,” Jose Antonio Vargas is an immigrant from the Philippines. He tells his story of how he got to the United States when he was in middle school and didn’t find out he was undocumented until he was in high school. He describes getting put on a plane by his mother and her telling him that the man with him was his uncle. After arriving in the U.S., Vargas started 6th grade and started to live a normal life. He didn’t find out his green card was fake until he tried to get his driving permit. After finding this out, he tried to be more cautious about people not finding out. However, now that he knew he was undocumented, he couldn’t do everything he wanted. He originally wasn’t going to go to college because he couldn’t apply for financial aid and his family couldn’t afford it. He did end up in college but could not apply for certain internships of interest because he didn’t have all the information that was required. These are the kind of things that he dealt with in his life, as well as other undocumented immigrants.

In this situation, Vargas should be referred to as an undocumented immigrant rather than an illegal immigrant. They are both diminishing. But calling someone an illegal alien is implying you don’t see them as human beings. Calling someone an undocumented immigrant that is undocumented is true. However, no one should be called either of these. All people are human beings and they don’t deserve this. Most people that come to the U.S. are fleeing from unprecedented circumstances. They are coming here because they want a better life for themselves and their kids or future children. It’s disheartening the way certain people treat them because they want a better life. People need to be more open-minded and empathic to solve these problems. But all of that takes time.