When talking to my grandma through the phone, her voice becomes tired and she starts to choke on her own words. “I want to be with you guys,” she says in Spanish before she starts to cry. “I feel so lonely over here.”

My grandma is just one of thousands of Mexicans who have families living in the United States, and she also belongs to the other group of countless people who wish to come to the United States but can not do so legally.

It hurts me to know that she misses me and that I miss her as well, but we cannot see each other. What hurts me more, however, is to know that there are people who think it is right to beat, be harsh to, or humiliate others. 

It shocks me to hear about all the violence at the Mexico-U.S. border, Mexicans getting shot, beaten and harassed as they cross the border. What is even more shocking is that the American public actually accepts this reality. 

I come from a family where the border and legalization is constantly talked about over dinner, while watching the news, or while doing the dishes. It’s in our everyday life because not all of us have the privilege to say that we are U.S. citizens. Regardless of our citizenship, we should all have the privilege to know that we are respected as humans no matter where we go or what we do.

I am aware that the Mexico-U.S. border is patrolled as highly as it is due to all the illegal drug and human trafficking. I understand that Mexicans as well as other Latinos are crossing the border illegally. They do it every day, and they will continue doing it because they hope that risking their lives can better the lives of their families, and give their children the opportunities that they never had.

I know this for a fact because my mother chose to do the same thing when she was eight months pregnant. She did it so that her daughter would be born in the land of opportunities and that way hopefully I could have the life that she couldn’t even dream of. 

My mom was lucky enough to not have any altercations while crossing the border, but others are not so lucky. It horrifies me to see videos of people getting beaten to death and harassed while crossing the border. 

I know that what they are doing is illegal but assaulting is illegal as well. 

Illegal immigrants do not have the same rights as U.S. citizens, but they do have human rights. They should have the right to be respected and protected wherever they go. I’m not saying that immigrants should not face the consequences of their actions, but no one deserves to be treated like an animal. No one should have the right to take someone’s life or dignity away.

That person crossing the border is not just a “wetback” from Mexico. He is a father, a son and a man who is trying to find other ways to take care of his family, when his home country has failed to do so. She is a daughter who thinks that coming to the United States will give her the education and opportunities she never had in her country. 

For as we know, out of all the great qualities Mexico has, education, employment and security are not one of them. Poverty can be seen in the eyes of wondering children and drug abuse can be seen in the pale faces of young adults. 

Most immigrants do not come here with dreams to turn these streets into the same drug-trafficking alleys that exist in their home countries. Or turn each city into a capital of poverty and disease like the ones at home. Most immigrants have the same dreams when they come to the United States. To return to their home country with wealth, health and all that the promise land has to offer. 

And who is to say that immigrants can’t dream?