Blog 7: The Struggling immigrant

The struggling Immigrant:

                  Before my life as an international traveler to Mexico my views on immigration were very different. For the most part, very uneducated, as I picked up the stereotypical views as many Americans do of migrant workers. Some of these stereotypes include names such as, wet back, dirty Mexican, and many others. I though that it wasn’t right that people were illegally entering the nation and taking American jobs, further depressing the economy. I thought following 9/11 strengthening the boarder so no one illegal could get in or out without someone knowing what a great idea. However there have been several lessons learned on this trip through the movie and the readings that have drastically changed my opinion on immigration.

                  This transformation initially began with the reading of the book, The Devil’s highway, by Luis Alberto Urrea before coming to Mexico. What I liked best about the book was that it showed the true colors of people on both side of the boarder. It wasn’t just a bias book that focused on the job stealing immigrant Mexican jumping the boarder, or the racist Boarder patrol pig fulfilling the stereotypes as the “Migra”. The book not only showed good people on both side of this issue that was trying to make a decent living and help out other people and their own families, but it also shows those bad people in society such as the coyotes who leave their groups to die and the police who abuse their power. One example of this diversity in the book is when the author speaks about the Mexican “Migra”, “ Turncoats. Traitors. They hunted down their own people, and they were meaner to the illegal’s than the gringo Migra’s were” (82). The author shows all points of the issues from people from all different situations that are united under this one issue. However what hit me the hardest was the numbers which were offered as evidence of these problems. “In spite of the 5.5 billion spent to stop them, keep swelling; deaths increase,” (180). My early view point of strengthening the boarder like many Americans view point, was only making matters worse. Strengthening the boarder wasn’t stopping these people from coming, it was making them come more, and having more die in this journey.

                  Although this book began to break down some of my incorrect views through this novel, what really finished this difficult task for me was seeing the movie, Farmingville. The movie showed the problems not only Mexicans but also Americans face with immigration. The Mexicans face low wages, doing dangerous jobs, with a lack of healthcare and money to pay when they get injured on the job. For an American rural community such as Farmingville, face increased populations, a diverse neighborhood, and crowding on city street corners. How ever the problem I found on both sides of this issue was that these people who are working in the United States are not able to become U.S citizens. Because of this they are unable to pay taxes and contribute to the community, and are constantly victimized by employers who care very little about their Mexican employees. What was most sad about this movie is that almost no progress has been made for either side of this battle against laws that fail to protect the lives of the inhabitants of the United States, not just U.S citizens.

                  However what I have learned about immigration will be very important to my future as I hope to seek a career in law enforcement. I feel that through this experience I have been able to see what makes these people take suck dangerous journeys in a hope to find a better life. I have also learned that laws are broken on both sides of this issue not only by the Mexicans but also by the Americans who treat these people like slave laborers everyday. In the future I feel that I will be better informed when making a decision such as one in the state of Connecticut were migrant populations are growing at astounding rates. 

- Greg Kenney