Make Immigrants Welcome Again

In the eight months since President Trump assumed office, ICE raids have taken over our cities, local parks, and small and large businesses. Looking to target undocumented immigrants, the Trump administration is attempting “the largest deportation program” in American history. According to The New York Times, over 180,000 people have been deported so far. As the Trump administration proceeds, fear about the future of immigrants in our country and at Stuyvesant continues to spread.

In today’s political climate, many assumptions and stereotypes are circulating about immigrants. Some worry that immigrants take jobs and also take advantage of America’s social welfare programs. However, recent statistics on immigrants suggest otherwise. According to the American Immigration Council, there is no statistically significant relationship between the unemployment rate and the influx of immigrants arriving in 2000 or later. In fact, hiring immigrants can actually encourage companies to offer more jobs that are also open to American-born citizens. Moreover, undocumented immigrants are often ineligible for public welfare services, and legal immigrants rely significantly less on federal public benefit programs than U.S.-born citizens, since only a small subset qualify. 

Immigrants are also often the scapegoat for criminal activities within the country, but in reality, immigrants are much less likely to commit crimes. According to a study done by the CATO Institute, the risk of incarceration for native-born Americans (11 percent) is higher than the risk for immigrants (three percent).  Furthermore, many of them may be imprisoned solely due to an immigration-related offense. Many immigrants come to the U.S. looking for a better life and education. In doing so, immigrants build our country and continue to grow our economy and our nation.

The value that immigrants bring to this country can be seen within the walls of Stuyvesant itself. According to The Spectator’s 2025 Freshman Survey, 65.9 percent of the incoming class identifies as first-generation Americans, and 14.8 percent of students are immigrants themselves. The 80.7 percent of immigrant respondents are all valued members of our community—whether or not they and their families are documented. When it comes to immigration, America’s system is deeply flawed; it lacks necessary resources and is heavily outdated. Being undocumented, or “illegal,” is often the result of various complex factors; the issue isn’t as black and white as the current administration paints it to be. 

Yet documentation status does not define a person; immigrants are more than their papers. Most are people journey to America with hope, dedication, and trust in the American Dream. America has long been considered the land of opportunities—for growth, for education, and for paving one’s future. For many immigrant students and families, Stuyvesant is a vehicle to achieve this goal. 

Our diverse student population fills our classrooms with different perspectives and ideas. Students speak a variety of languages both in school and at home. Immigrants contribute insight from their diverse cultures and lived experiences. We read novels and poems written by writers from around the world. Our differences enrich our perspectives. Stuyvesant is a school of immigrants, and we are the future of this country.

The influence of immigrant students and teachers alike can be apparent in the courses we take and the student clubs and extracurriculars we participate in. Classes like Asian American Literature, A.P. African American History, and Jewish History teach us about the oftentimes disregarded experiences of our classmates. It is necessary for our curriculum to dive into the rich Jewish communities in New York, the written anecdotes about the Black experience in America, and the numerous immigrant short stories in a collection like Charlie Chan is Dead. Our classroom discussions are much more diverse and worthwhile because of students’ personal relationships with these topics. Our Chinese Culture Club, Muslim Student Association, ASPIRA, and Jewish Student Union provide spaces for students to both find a tight-knit community in a school of over 3000 and to foster more understanding about students’ cultures. Providing opportunities to write creatively on Islam, practice the brushstrokes of East Asian calligraphy, or visit the Museum of Jewish Heritage enriches students’ lives. A Stuyvesant education not only provides rigorous academics, but molds us into more empathetic and worldly individuals. 

We at Stuyvesant are fortunate to be in such a diverse, open-minded environment. The ability to write this editorial is one that has been snatched from students across the nation as freedom of speech becomes increasingly challenged. Even so, fear still runs rampant among the Stuyvesant community: more immigrant students are afraid to reach out for help; The Spectator’s own demographics survey is no longer feasible given today’s political climate; and people continue to shy away from difficult conversation topics. As English teacher Dr. Emily Moore described, students are less willing to write or discuss their experiences as immigrants, undocumented or not.  As immigrants’ place in this country continues to be threatened, our vibrancy and intellectual enrichment will fade. 

The creativity and dreams that fill this building started thousands of miles away, with parents and grandparents who decided that they wanted more and went searching for it in the United States. The work ethic that Stuyvesant students are known for comes from their colorful immigrant backgrounds. Without immigrants, Stuyvesant would not be the school that it is, and it wouldn’t provide us with the education that we’ve all worked so hard for. Now more than ever, it’s important to remember how invaluable immigrants are to our school community and our nation as a whole. To all the students who fear what the future will look like for themselves, their friends, or families, we see you and stand with you. Hopefully, America will soon realize the value each and everyone of you hold.