Melting Pot (Defrost App Review)

Defrost is a great app idea! I agree that many immigrants and refugees that come to the United States of America are not well-informed. Many of them leave their home country because of reasons such as war, crime, or unemployment which lead them to seek opportunities such as jobs, security, and education here. Unfortunately, when they do arrive to the United States, they face challenges like prejudice and discrimination, and are labeled as illegals or terrorists because of fear and ignorance. They work jobs that are unsafe, poorly paid, and have horrible working conditions due to the denial of civil rights protections. Surprisingly, several of these workers use an alias to protect themselves from the government. I was not astonished to learn that unauthorized immigrants account for about 3.7 percent of the total U.S. population and about 5.2 percent of the labor force. Immigrants, particularly women, are susceptible to abuse and exploitation. Many immigrants avoid reporting crimes done against them because of fear of deportation. For example, in our discussion in class, we talked about how nearly half of the foreign-born population is female, and how many of them will not report domestic abuse.

Our immigration laws have been very stationary. The Immigrant Nationality Act was created in 1952 and till this day remains the basic body of the immigration law. Clearly, we have to change or even eradicate this, since immigration is still a major issue in our society. Immigrants are still struggling to become naturalized, and the legal process is too stagnant. DACA students do not have any easier. Every two years, they have to pay a high fee and repeat a tedious procedure to remain the the U.S. which is not even 100 percent guaranteed. Another thing our generation has to think about is the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Is ICE causing more harm than good? It is not fair when partners are separated, or when children are taken away and forced to return to place they do not know. Another thing I learned is that ICE’s website allows people to randomly report illegal immigrants. Due to the fact that anyone can report someone out of impulse or rage causes a lot of fear in the community.

Overall the app is a great concept. It is crucial for people, especially during these times, to know what is the most legitimate, up-to-date information. They cannot rely on false recycled news on Facebook. People also need to know their rights. This app allows for immigrants to know that they are not alone and that there are others in the same situation. It is time to remind ICE and the rest to the government that the United States is a “melting pot” of different cultures.