I Hope The World Is Better

By Anonymous / Fall 2025

Dear Future Son,

The year is 2025 and the world is divided right now. There are many issues and events happening not only in my own personal life, but also in my local communities, and within the country and abroad. Seeing everything that is going on, my best hope for you son is that things are much better in your present day (my future) than my current times. Although there will always be conflicts and issues going on at any given time (as with any society), since humans will always continue to be humans and we as humans will always act based on our own pride and sinful nature, I wish that the problems you are currently facing are far less extreme than the issues of my current day.

Today, I would like to write to you about a few of these social and political issues that I feel like are the most important of my day. Furthermore, as I am explaining these issues, I really encourage you to learn, absorb, and remember a thing or two from my thoughts and be better able to defend yourself when similar situations arise for you; however, with that being said I really hope that we as a society have since then already learned from such crucial lessons and events and have become better since today and is doing better during your time and that you will no longer need my insights to protect you for the rest of your life.

The first topic that I would like to discuss with you is based on how we have now come to interact with people and communities who are different from us nowadays. Even though the United States of America has existed as an independent country for more than 200 years and it has been considered a melting pot, throughout most of its time as a nation, filled with many different cultures and people from all walks of life and from all parts of the whole wide world who not only socialize with people who are like them but also interact and exchange ideas with people who may not be like or are literally not like them.

Recently, though, we as citizens of the same U.S.A. who were once proud of being this melting pot of cultures have seen a huge and sudden rise in racism and specifically an increase in ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency) cases. Just in case ICE no longer exists during your time or you are just not aware of the organization (which hopefully means something good), the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency’s main mission (according to their official website) is to “Protect America through criminal investigations and enforcing immigration laws to preserve national security and public safety” but amongst the general public they are commonly known for cases where they have detained and deported potential immigrants who do not have a legal right to be in this country and more on that later in this letter (ICE). Before delving into the recent uptick in ICE cases, I would like to state a few of my opinion pieces on the issue of racism in general.

Connecting to my own life in recent memory, I have had the pleasure so far this 2025 Fall academic quarter of being involved with a fairly new club on campus, KELE. KELE stands for Korean-English Language Exchange and it is a club where native English speakers and native Korean speakers get paired with each other to learn and practice each other’s native languages in casual conversations.

Through my time and participation in this club, I was once again reminded of the fact that even though one half of the members of the club may prefer Korean over English and the other half the reverse of that that both parties are more than excited to learn the other side’s language, culture, and perspectives on top of who the other side is as individuals. Moreover, regardless of whether you come from a Korean or an English language background, every student here at UCSD is all here for the same basic reason which is to learn.

Of course, learning can take on many ways and forms, but the basis is that we are all facing the same challenge(s). The main point that I am trying to make here is that although our methods may differ, all humans are the same in that we all share the same purpose of learning and growing to understand our place in this world. Also, son, we can still find the same likes and dislikes with others who come from various backgrounds unlike our own.

Tying this idea of mine back to what is currently happening more so with current politics being considered, I bring up the fairly recent rise in ICE arrests and confrontations and deportations. Without getting into too much in detail about the current administration, ever since the current President of our country got back into office there seems to be a sudden acceleration on the increase of ICE arrests and deportations of undocumented people.

According to an article by the New York Times, “By the first week of August [2025], deportations reached nearly 1,500 people per day, according to the latest data, a pace not seen since the Obama administration...At least 180,000 people have been deported by ICE under [current American President in office Donald] Trump so far. At the current higher pace, the agency is on track to deport more than 400,000 people in his first year in office, well more than the 271,000 people ICE removed in the year ending last September [of 2024]” (Sun).

First off, the huge percentage increase in people who were not only detained but actually got deported in less time that it took for last year’s number of 271,000 to 400,000 in the following year is a whopping 47% increase. My brain is having a hard time wrapping around this massive percentage increase so I will just first off like to state that I overall find this disgusting. I also find it hard to believe that the main reasons for this uptick in cases is none other than due to racism and prejudice not only of our current government leaders but also of the common American population who support such actions, especially since they once again have a leader who can support such ideas and beliefs and any dangerous actions that may happen as a result from such ideologies.

Moreover, the article continues with “still short of the administration’s stated goal of one million deportations a year” (Sun). From 271,000 people deported back in 2024 to a number of a million deportations for a year would mean a 269% increase. That high of a increase makes our previous calculation of 47% look like a speck of dust, even though 47% is still a high percentage. This number of 269% is what most people would rather see from their investment accounts or retirement accounts rather than when it is connected to people’s lives. If this goal of a million deportations per year is ever achieved, I believe (fear) that there will be massive turmoil within our country and the economy might turn for the worse as a result.

Especially due to the massive amount of media coverage that this topic is getting, it looks like many of these arrests that ICE is making are unjustifiable and not morally or legally right. Even if the arrests are made under correct and within reasonable boundaries, the way that ICE has been making arrests would be considered inhumane in my opinion.

For example, based on what I have seen ICE would pull up to a workplace that would have a good amount of workers who most likely are (at the very least) not naturally born U.S. citizens and round these people up as if they are cattle and take them away without allowing them to defend for themselves through the courts and within their legal and God-given human rights.

One out of many such incidents in our country happened in a Georgia factory plant. According to this online New York Times article, “U.S. immigration officials had raided the construction site of a major Hyundai-LG plant in Georgia on Thursday, arresting hundreds of South Korean citizens. U.S. officials said they had arrested 475 people during the raid, in Ellabell, Ga., because they were in the country illegally or working unlawfully. Most of them were South Korean nationals who had been sent to help finish building an electric-car battery factory, according to industry officials familiar with the project. Most, they said, were subcontractors working for the carmaker Hyundai and the battery maker LG Energy Solution, South Korean companies that share ownership of the plant” (Choe).

I think it is safe to assume that most if not all of these workers who were arrested due to this specific event were just here in the States just for work and had no intentions of being here for other and sinful reasons including harmful and dangerous reasons. Furthermore, there might be a bias involved with this event since it seems like the lack of English ability from these workers just gave the ICE agents and officers just another excuse to detain them with the thought of soon deporting them back to South Korea. Furthermore, very similar cases are happening at other businesses where undocumented people tend to work, at least according to stereotypes. From car washes to gas stations to active construction zones to auto repair shops, employees are just (more or less) peacefully attending to their work duties and just trying to get through their shifts until all of a sudden ICE agents barge into their workplace, offices, and businesses and take the ones who they deem no longer valuable to be detained and potentially deported to another country.

Especially since I currently go to university in San Diego which is a city that happens to directly border Mexico (as Mexicans tend to be the stereotypical group to be considered to be the first to be deported out of this country and be amongst the victims of these ICE raids), I have seen many local news stations report on these events happening in our local neighborhoods that are within a quick bus ride or walk from where I am currently living off campus. I can not only see the effect that it is having on my neighbors through hearing and experiencing these events (as a bystander who can not help) from the reports but I can see it also impacting my fellow students/classmates on campus. Many students, even people who are naturally born U.S. citizens and thus could be considered “safe” (whatever that word may mean now) from these things happening to them, are worried about their family, friends, and coworkers who might just be suddenly grabbed by an ICE agent at any moment during these operations as if it is as easy as stealing candy from a kid.

Although I understand that the ICE agents are mainly targeting specific individuals who most likely have a criminal background or a big enough reason to be at least detained, if not arrested and deported later on, I am claiming here that a racist bias may still be playing a big part in these ICE operations. I don’t know about you son but especially considering the hectic and sudden nature of such operations, it could be rather tempting to throw away the original plan of only detaining specific individuals and instead grab the people who just happen to be there and who just look like they may not be from this country. Now I understand such an opinion could be harsh to say about ICE since ICE agents are humans as well and could still make mistakes just like everyone else (not saying that their actions are fully 100% justifiable though) but I keep hearing time and time again of truly innocent people, even with legal American citizens, being detained and deported out of the country.

One specific example of legal American citizens being wrongfully deported out of this country involves three young children. According to an NBC News article, “Despite being American citizens, three children — a 4-year-old boy with Stage 4 kidney cancer, his 7-year-old sister and a 2-year-old girl — were swept up along with their families by immigration authorities in Louisiana and quickly sent to Honduras” (Silva). To clear up the confusion with this much of a real life story, according to the article both mothers are U.S. immigrants but it seems like all three of the children were born in the United States which should and does make them natural born and legal American citizens. What makes this story really go off on a twist is that not only the two mothers were deported back to Honduras their children also unfortunately joined them and got deported as well.

What really starts to tick me off is that even though there is a legal process that both families could have gone through to at least fight for the potential to have their children stay in the States, especially considering the multiple medical conditions that the kids are currently facing, the families were denied that basic right to at least appeal and the same government offices and workers who at least initially should be looking out for them and should be helping them out now state they have no choice but to have them deported as soon as possible. Currently the families are trying to work with creating a lawsuit with the hope that at least their small and weak children could go back to the country that they have a legal right to. This is just one of many such cases of American citizens being wrongfully detained, arrested, and eventually deported as if they themselves are undocumented, even though they have as much right to not only be in this country but also have a chance to flourish in this country as you and I do, son.

I believe, especially with the administration that we have right now controlling our country, that people in this country are being tricked and taught to hate people or to view people who are different from them as if they are the devil and besides of putting forth any attempts and efforts to connect and relate to different people we are told to instead try to push these “problems” as far away from us for our own “safety”. I think such beliefs are detrimental to not only for society but also for each person’s well-being and also is actually not creating more safety but instead are actually making our lives more at risk to future dangers.

As a side note, I would like to quickly discuss about the influence of propaganda that is being put out in all of this. Specifically I would like to discuss the ICE and DHS (U.S. Department of Homeland Security) propaganda relating to these ICE raids. Honestly, in simple terms I find propaganda just an extreme version of advertising and marketing. Unlike with general corporate marketing that is just trying to increase the revenue and profit numbers of a company, propaganda is more political and tends to show extreme biases to blind and hide the real facts about the situation and to sway the general population to what the government or organziation, that is behind the mask of the political advertising that is propaganda, want the general public to believe in no matter how outlandish their claims may be.

The first video that I would like to show you today son is an Instagram video that was posted by the DHS. Here is the link to the video (Dept. of Homeland Security). As you can see throughout this video the DHS makes the entire situation like as if this video is the next greatest and biggest summer blockbuster film. The clips make the ICE and DHS agents and employees as if they are superheroes and the good guys. In my opinion though, I don’t see that as an absolute fact and such propaganda videos create a very artificial reality almost like a video game or a simulation like we see in the popular film, The Matrix.

On the other side though, the side that I would consider to be the actual reality, can be best summarized from the interviews of a few of the eyewitnesses and suspects from this specific incident. Here is the link to those interviews. A few pieces of the dialogue that I heard from the interviews with the apartment tenants that I would like to highlight include them stating that the agents “just treated [them] like [they] were nothing”, “it was scary because I’ve never had a gun put in my face”, “the kids was crying. People were screaming”, and finally in response from a neighbor upon seeing little kids even being ziptied and asking the agents about it the neighbor asked “Where’s the morality? Where’s the human? [they the agents] laughed and said fuck them kids” (ABC 7 Chicago). Just even with these few bits of dialogue you can see how inhumane the entire situation was and similar cases that are happening right now to this day are just the same. Even little kids are being victimized even though they are not directly involved with the overall situation.

Going back to my previous topic, what I mean is that since we are actually limiting ourselves of exposure to different backgrounds and cultures when we move people from cultures and backgrounds that we may not be familiar with away from us, it shrinks our worldview and makes us more secluded from the rest of the world. Of course, I and this idea of mine may be wrong and I understand that this may not be actually the case of what could happen but I believe what I believe and I am and will stand firm on my beliefs as long as I believe them to be of truth as I have dealt with similar racism recently as an Asian-American who lived through the COVID years (2020-2022 or 2023 officially).

According to a PBS News article, “pandemic-fueled abuse of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders became so frequent — reports spiked 35% from March 2020 to the end of 2021” (Tang). I would like to point out this data to show the increase of the level of how uncomfortable I further became on top of already being uncomfortable being in a place that I would like to call home but sometimes growing up that thought would feel like a pipe dream that goes away with the wind as the smoke from a pipe would as I would be still called a foreigner even though I was born here and my own parents came into this country legally. During that time though, I would be unjustifiably blamed and looked at as if I was patient zero of the disease and just like the victims of the ICE operations would also say I am saying that being victimized unfairly was not a pleasant experience whatsoever.

Unfortunately, I still think about these experiences from time to time as I just moved to California right before the start of the nationwide lockdowns due to the emergence of COVID-19 in America. As a bit of background information on how serious the lockdowns were back then, according to a NPR article, “While some changes happened gradually, there was one day that marked the beginning of the new era. March 11, 2020.On that day in the United States, the pandemic future arrived all at once...And the coronavirus — which had already sparked lockdowns in China and Italy — had become a major concern in the U.S...Some schools in the U.S. had already closed, affecting about 850,000 students. And some Americans were trying to figure out whether to cancel the expensive cruises they had booked” (Wamsley). Moreover not only travel locally and within the country was being discouraged if not banned in some areas international travel was definitely discouraged as well especially since many countries would outright ban foreign visitors during that time.

Based on my experiences during these past few years, I still do sometimes base my opinions of SoCal people from such unpleasant experiences and have had a hard time trying to connect and make relationships with local people including my neighbors, classmates, coworkers amongst other peers who I see daily. I mention this son because I would like to surrender and accept that I too do hold prejudices as well and I truly would like to change that fact but you son must stay strong and not let others, even people who may hold a higher societal or workplace role than you, make their opinions and beliefs as if they are of your own opinions and beliefs as well.

As a lasting thought for you son, the world will be a tough place son, and not everyone is going to agree with you, and likewise, you will not agree with everyone but if basic morals and rights are being questioned and challenged you must hold onto your beliefs and must not be a bystander like I am unfortunately right now when those beliefs of yours are under attack and being threatened out of existence. Instead, you must pick up your sword and shield and take action to defend your beliefs, of course assuming that your beliefs are ethical and morally good and are being backed up by reasonable logic. On top of that, you must also protect everyone else’s basic rights as if they are your own. Even if someone else’s beliefs might differ from your own, as long as their reasons and beliefs are just and morally good, you must respect those differences and see the difference in opinion as an opportunity to not get further away from them but to actually get closer to them and broaden your mind and worldview almost as if you are stepping in their shoes. I just hope that you will be a better man than me and will do better and greater things that positively impact your society than I have ever done in my life.

I hope by the time you have read this letter that the world is a lot better and is a more just place by then in your present time than my current time but even if you are in peaceful times these words of advice must not be forgotten, as history tends to repeat itself.

Works Cited

ABC 7 Chicago. “ICE Agents Raid South Shore Apartment Building: ‘They Just Treated Us like We Were Nothing.’” YouTube, 30 Sept. 2025. Accessed 10 Dec. 2025.

Choe Sang-Hun. “Immigration Raid on Hyundai-LG Plant in Georgia Rattles South Korea.” The New York Times, 6 Sept. 2025. Accessed 9 Dec. 2025.

Dept. of Homeland Security [@dhsgov]. “DHS law enforcement has made OVER 900 ARRESTS during Operation Midway Blitz in Illinois.” Instagram, 2 Oct. 2025. Accessed 10 Dec. 2025.

Silva, Daniella. “ICE Sends 3 U.S. Citizen Kids, Including Boy with Stage 4 Cancer, to Honduras with Deported Moms.” NBC News, 13 Aug. 2025. Accessed 10 Dec. 2025.

Sun, Albert. “Deportations Reach New High after Summer Surge in Immigration Arrests.” The New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025. Accessed 9 Dec. 2025.

Tang, Terry. “5 Years after Pandemic Surge, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Still Targets of Hatred.” PBS News, 27 Mar. 2025. Accessed 10 Dec. 2025.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “Mission.” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 7 March 2025. Accessed 9 Dec. 2025.

Wamsley, Laurel. “March 11, 2020: The Day Everything Changed.” NPR, 11 Mar. 2025. Accessed 10 Dec. 2025.