It is no secret that the United States is home to millions of undocumented immigrants. 11 million to be exact. Why so many immigrants? What is their purpose for leaving their homes and fleeing to a new place, where the possibility of being deported always remains? The two men in this video say they came to America because they have the opportunity to make more money. When prompted with making more money at an undesirable job versus working a desirable job and paying taxes- money outweighed desire. It has also been reported that Mexicans flee their home to get away from [gang] violence, more job opportunities in America, leave corrupt government, allow a better education for their children. "Someone tells me about living in Tijuana during the worst months- not so much about living under the constant threat of violence but talking about living under constant violence. It is impossible to speak, she says, when you're still in the middle of it." (Jamison 58). Other personal stories explain individual reasons for immigrating.
Undocumented children don't have access to the US Child Labor Laws, so employers can make children work in deathly conditions.
However, steps are being taken to reduce the number of undocumented immigrants into America. Donald Trump has proposed 'the wall' which will be a 1,000 mile long wall that will cost about 10-12 billion dollars. Regardless of your political views, you can't help but think of the sacrifices these people made- they left their homes (their families) to find work and make money. Generally, Latinos and Hispanics do the tough jobs that most Americans don't want to. These hard jobs or trabajos duros provide little pay and are in harsh conditions, but they are necessary to the American economy.
'Crossing the border' is a very difficult decision to make, but millions of people do it. There are different view points about crossing the dreadful border, and it is all about perspective. The two of the photos on the left show what most Mexicans deal with when crossing the border (illegally). As for Americans, there is a lengthy process to ensure the safety of both countries. From an American perspective (crossing the border legally), going into Mexico sounds like this:
"The road into Tijuana is
Security checkpoint for people entering Mexico.
clogged with guns and cars and men in uniform, the pageantry of American panic." (Jamison 60) Works Cited
"Donald Trump's Mexico Wall: Who Is Going to Pay for It?" BBC News. BBC, 06 Feb. 2017. Web. 27 Apr. 2017. "Hispanics and Latinos in Industries and Occupations : The Economics Daily." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 9 Oct. 2015. Web. 04 May 2017. Jamison, Leslie. The Empathy Exams: Essays. Minneapolis, MN: Graywolf, 2014. Print.
They Come To America. Perf. Undocumented Illegal Immigrants. Youtube. N.p., 29 July 2012. Web. 27 Apr. 2017. .
Yee, Vivian, Kenan Davis, and Jugal K. Patel. "Here’s the Reality About Illegal Immigrants in the United States." The New York Times. The New York Times, 06 Mar. 2017. Web. 27 Apr. 2017.
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