Thomas Sowell once said “Immigration laws are the only laws that are discussed in terms of how to help people who break them.” Because immigration laws were broken, I am here today telling the story of my mother Yuying and her immigration journey to America.
Her story starts out in a small improvised town off the coast of Shanghai. As the youngest of three siblings, they thought were often regarded as more important or superior, but she was the most determined and the bravest. With barely enough food to survive, she was resolute to achieve a better life for her and her family. She believed that education was the avenue to a successful life. Consequently, she focused on studying hard throughout the early stages of her life. In turn she was accepted into the best university in all of China. Her parents were extremely proud of her accomplishment, and my mother was one step closer out of the perpetual state of poverty which she lived in. After graduating out of the class of 69’, she was uncertain about her future, but like before she was persistent about her education. However, this time she decided to study in America, but money was still an obstacle for her and her family.
One day when my mother was desperately looking for a way to make money, a student attempting to pass a placement test for college asked my mother to take the test for her. Given the desperate situation, my mother decided to take on the task despite it being highly illegal in China. Impersonating the student, she took the placement exam for the student. Earning fantastic marks on the test she was paid the money for her journey to America. However, at the time you needed a family relative outside of the country to leave. Again, faced with another obstacle as she didn’t know anyone outside of America. She finally chose to lie to the Chinese government. If she were caught, she would never achieve her dream of reaching America. Despite all of this she was confident. With her travel papers, she explained to the government that she had an “uncle” that lived-in Hong Kong. Believing her story, the government allowed her to board the plane that was the key to her future. After landing in America with 91 dollars in her pocket, she realized her journey had just begun.
