“Finally, what is perhaps the most devastating outcome for immigrant students is their more general loss of hope. Without hope, students lose the capacity to envision a future for themselves in school, or after graduation. This can happen when their emerging identity as a student with a life full of discovery and possibility ahead of them is eclipsed by a racial, ethnic, and legal identity externally imposed on them as an immigrant, an alien, or an ‘illegal.’” (Goodman, 2018, p.59).

Salinas, California, also known as the “salad bowl of America” is a town that neighbors the more popular and well-known towns of Monterey, Carmel, Santa Cruz and Pacific Grove in the Bay Area. This is the town in which I also spent the majority of my childhood. Yet, if you ask inhabitants of the more prestigious neighboring towns about Salinas, the chance that you will hear responses such as “It’s not really a good place to visit” or, “If you go there, you’ll get shot full of lead” are quite high. Since Salinas is known for its vast rolling hills covered with agricultural crops as far as the eye can see, it is also known for its agricultural laborers who mainly come from Latin America and, in many cases, are undocumented individuals who work inhumane hours for very little pay. Salinas is a town land-locked by surrounding towns that are constantly imposing their negative stereotypes upon inhabitants of Salinas, labeling them as gang members who will freely shoot whenever they feel. This image is amplified by the news in this Bay Area region, feeding this stereotype and greatly affecting its inhabitants, particularly the students in high school. This quote spoke to me since I witnessed this “general loss of hope” far too often, where some students without legal documentation expressed that they found no point in doing well in school since they anticipated the same fate as their parents working in the fields or forming part of a gang.

This was a heartbreaking environment to have witnessed, and of course even more so to be a victim of, especially if one is constantly being reminded of one’s “illegal” status. These students would have greatly benefitted from support within their schools and spaces where their voices could be heard. I don’t know how the situation is in Salinas today, but when I was living there, I know these students weren’t being provided with the resources they needed to feel accepted in their schools as well as the support from faculty and teachers that were highly required. As teachers, we need to keep in mind the climate in which our students are growing and how their diverse backgrounds may be impacted by it. A student should never feel helpless and alone in school, and providing a safe space of acceptance and understanding is a good start so they may never feel this “general loss of hope.”