With increasing threats around the world, the US receives more and more immigrants. Utah is lucky to house many every year. In Farmington, we have quite a few people from different countries or just other states.

What is an immigrant? An immigrant is a person who decides to leave their home and move to a foreign land.

Though there are many students who have families who immigrated or they have  immigrated themselves I decided to pick 4 students to explain their emotions towards their home country, the US, and the American dream.

Studen, Noah’s grandparents, had immigrated from South Korea because they wanted to seek more opportunities and the “American Dream.”

“The American dream is the stereotype of America, so that’s like finishing school, going to college, getting married, and just very typical things.” Senior, Noah Yang said.

Libby Tran’s dad had an extensive journey to the US. He had come from Vietnam but traveled through Cambodia in order to immigrate. While Liby was talking about her dad she also brought up the American dream. This time she explained it as being in a safer environment because her fathers home country was incredibly dangerous, so for him the United States was a new beginning of safety.

Safety was also a consideration for Valentina Jemenez. Valentina had to leave Venezuela to find better education, safety, and more opportunities. In her interview, she explained that Venezuela is a dangerous country and the government is corrupt. That is why so many people leave. Now, Valentina is learning English and making new memories in the US.

While you may hear about immigration from different countries, immigration can be from different states. Just like Hawaii to Utah. Ken Harris is from the Big Island; he came to Utah to find more opportunities in sports and a better education. He explains that, in Hawaii, education was way different than on the mainland because his old school didn’t have as many resources as Farmington had.

“Education up here is just at a higher level of expectation and back home it was just easier I guess.” Senior, Ken Harris said. 

Everywhere you are, there are people who have immigrated, and behind that, there are stories of why, when, where, and such. It is important to hear these stories to open the bigger picture.