My American Dream is to witness the United States embrace and recognize the Hispanic population.

This is important and a sensitive topic for me as I have family that has faced discrimination. I have, too.

It’s painful to see because we are just as American as American-born citizens. My father spent many years in the legal system waiting for American citizenship, which he finally gained when I was a young child.

Witnessing the work that it takes to become a citizen and how that lengthy process greatly limits the Hispanic community is disappointing, especially because many American-born citizens do not know or appreciate the amount of work involved. For that matter, many American-born citizens don’t understand that immigrants pay taxes just like they do.

The discrimination against immigrants in the U.S. is clear to see, and true equality for all will never be achieved if we do not support and encourage diversity and prioritize morals over nationality. I dream of a day when my community is not treated as less than and can celebrate both our origins and future.