The student news site of Pleasant Valley High School

Spartan Shield

The student news site of Pleasant Valley High School

Spartan Shield

The student news site of Pleasant Valley High School

Spartan Shield

The courageous convoy

How America has been misinformed about the immigrant caravan

The immigrant caravan that has been traveling up from Central America has been in the news for weeks now. There have been mixed emotions among the American population and among public figures. Some see the group as a danger, while others see it as families trying to find a better life.   

While this caravan poses no threat to the American public, president Donald Trump has used this event as an opportunity to twist the situation and spark fear into Americans. One of his tweets claimed that “unknown middle easterners” were among the caravan. However, when pressed for evidence, Trump responded, “There’s no proof of anything but they could very well be.”

It can be inferred that Trump used this as a scare tactic to make Americans vote red in the midterm elections, ensuring he stays in charge of the House of Representatives and the Senate. This scare tactic has fooled many Americans into thinking this caravan of families is a threat to America.

Taking a closer look at the inhabitants of the caravan it is clear that the people mean no harm. They are simply trying to escape their poverty ridden lives from their home countries. Photographer Ueslei Marcelino does a great job of capturing the essence of the caravan in his heartbreaking photographs. An estimated 2,300 children are apart of the caravan. Do these children really pose any sort of threat to America?

As one of the largest and most successful countries shouldn’t we use our resources to help those suffering from poverty ravaged countries? Many of these people are searching desperately for healthcare, clean water, and sanitation, something that their countries cannot provide. Trump has used his tweets and negativity to convince Americans that these children and families who are turning to us for help either do not deserve our help, or are only here to hurt us.

During an interview, Trump told reporters (in reference to the military members stationed at the Mexico border), “They want to throw rocks at our military, our military fights back. I told them to consider it a rifle. When they throw rocks like what they did to the Mexican military and police I say consider it a rifle”. The president wants our military to use firearms on a group of unarmed protesters, woman, children, and families.

Another tweet of the president read, “Our military is being mobilized at the Southern Border. Many more troops coming. We will NOT let these Caravans, which are also made up of some very bad thugs and gang members, into the U.S. Our Border is sacred, must come in legally. TURN AROUND!

This caravan is the most obvious and safest way for people to come into our country. There’s no possible way for the group of people to sneak into America. Their purpose is not to to harm us, but to find a better life than the ones they left behind.

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About the Contributor
Maya McClain, Photo Manager
My name is Maya McClain, I’m one of the Photography Managers. I enjoy spending my free time taking pictures in and out of school. You can usually find me on the field or court taking pictures at school football, volleyball, basketball, and soccer games. Outside of school I enjoy drawing and painting along with taking and editing pictures of friends and nature. My goal for next year is to go to Mizzou and study photojournalism.  
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The courageous convoy