To begin, I feel the need to state that this book was slightly hard to digest. I realize that I am meant to elaborate on whether or not I agree with Joseph Nevins' thesis, but to be honest, I was rather confused as to what that thesis is. The author jumped around quite a bit, giving the reader extensive background information and lessons in history and geography, and yet, he managed to tie everything back to the main story of Julio Cesar Gallagos. I think that, perhaps, the extraneous information might have drawn too much attention away from Julio's story, and therefore, I found myself becoming detached and uncertain of Nevins' central argument. Basically, I have concluded that Nevins is a humanist. I believe that the main point of this book is not necessarily about better border control/security or about the politics regarding immigration. Most likely, I think that Nevins really strives to educate the reader about an ever-prevalent human rights issue, and that is an argument I am inclined to agree with.
Although I have not been directly affected by the tragedy that often goes hand in hand with immigration, I think it is important to mention that I grew up in Southern California. Due to this, I definitely felt myself becoming fully engrossed in the book by Chapter Four, “Juchipila, MexUSA”. Though I have always loved the fact that California is such a melting pot, I am ashamed to say that quite a few of my friends do not feel the same. I have found that, despite the fact that these people don't consider themselves to be racist, that they show disrespect towards immigrants and are fearful that “illegal aliens” are going to take jobs away from the “whites.” Nevins really does a great job of explaining the background of m...
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...e vast majority of Americans, the wrongness of unsanctioned migration and the need to prevent it are simply beyond question. The law and its defense becomes an end in and of itself” (Nevins, p. 176).
I realize that in writing this paper, I have not touched much on the actual story of Julio or the history and geography that Nevins focuses on in the first two chapters of “Dying To Live.” However, I believe that it is through a couple of my own personal experiences that I am able to identify and relate to certain themes in Nevins' book. As I mentioned earlier, I truly feel that, although this novel is propelled by the tragic story of Julio Cesar Gallagos, Nevins merely wants the reader to recognize the inhumanity and inequality that many people must face. This does not only apply to those who, like Julio, have attempted to or have successfully migrated to America.
All in all, Julio Cammarota was a great man, who was not afraid to question the law. He took a stand and wrote Sueños Americanos: Barrio Youth Negotiating Social and Cultural Identities, which was about how the Latina/o community delt with overwhelming racism and discrimination in California. Sueños Americanos not only gave a voice to the Latina/o community, but also encouraged more Latinas/os to go to school and get an education. Sueños Americanos is a wonderful book that tells how it is really like growing up in America being
Islas, Arturo. From Migrant Souls. American Mosaic: Multicultural Readings in Context. Eds. Gabriele Rico, Barbara Roche and Sandra Mano. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. 1995. 483-491.
Even though immigration brings in people from all over the world, many people tend to focus and stereotype all undocumented immigrants as coming from Mexico. As we can see through the novel and through the recent immigrant influx during the summer, the United States is seeing more and more people from Central and Latin America. These native countries are unable to provide a safe, productive environment for its people, so they need to look for a way to support their families. Even if that means going through the dangers of the trains, crossing the Rio Grande, and realizing that the “picture perfect” society of the U.S. is nothing but a
Bestseller journalist, Sonia Nazario, in her literacy non-fiction, Enrique’s Journey, describes a young man’s journey trying to reconcile with his mother in the United States, but has to go through many obstacles to reach her. Nazario’s purpose is to inform readers about how immigration affects children and their mothers in Central America. She adopts an optimistic/determined tone in order to reveal to her readers the difficulty and bravery the children have to face to get to the United States. Nazario begins her credibility with ethos to retrace an abandon teenager’s journey through Central America, pathos to follow the mother son relationship, and logos by giving facts and statistics for illegal immigrants in the U.S.
In a country full of inequities and discriminations, numerous books were written to depict our unjust societies. One of the many books is an autobiography by Richard Wright. In Black Boy, Wright shares these many life-changing experiences he faced, which include the discovery of racism at a young age, the fights he put up against discriminations and hunger, and finally his decision of moving Northward to a purported better society. Through these experiences which eventually led him to success, Wright tells his readers the cause and effect of racism, and hunger. In a way, the novel The Tortilla Curtain by T.C Boyle illustrates similar experiences. In this book, the lives of two wealthy American citizens and two illegal immigrants collided. Delaney and Kyra were whites living in a pleasurable home, with the constant worry that Mexicans would disturb their peaceful, gated community. Candido and America, on the other hand, came to America to seek job opportunities and a home but ended up camping at a canyon, struggling even for cheapest form of life. They were prevented from any kind of opportunities because they were Mexicans. The differences between the skin colors of these two couples created the hugest gap between the two races. Despite the difficulties American and Candido went through, they never reached success like Wright did. However, something which links these two illegal immigrants and this African American together is their determination to strive for food and a better future. For discouraged minorities struggling in a society plagued with racism, their will to escape poverty often becomes their only motivation to survive, but can also acts as the push they need toward success.
The immigrants of the twentieth century faced many hardships and shockingly inhumane treatment. They came to America in pursuit of a better life and to see the famous "land of opportunity." However, what they saw was discrimination, isolation, poverty, and unfriendly competition. The protagonist in each of the novels convey the dispiriting side of the America that the immigrants unknowingly fell into. The stereotypes and classifications placed upon the ex-colored man, the Filipino immigrant, or Mexican-American boy were unfortunate but true representations of the time. The American Dream was not attainable by all, as it claimed to be.
Immigration has been a topic that people have struggled to accept for centuries. The questions often asked are, what are we going to do about it? And should we allow them in? The problem here is that technically most Americans were immigrants at one point unless they are Native American. With every new wave of immigrants, there is a reemergence of fears that control our views. Both David Cole and Barry R. Chiswick agree to allow immigration and convey that the views most people hold aren't properly based on real evidence.
We live in a country that was established by the European immigrants in the 18th century. In that time period they were not seen as immigrants but as pioneers who established the United States. Now in the present, the word immigrant has a negative connotation and are not welcomed in the United States. In the book, The Short Sweet Dream of Eduardo Gutierrez, by Jimmy Breslin, we follow a young Mexican immigrant on his journey to the United States and see what he had to face with American society and labor. We travel with him from a small village named San Matίas in Mexico until his death in Williamsburg, New York. Not only did he suffer a brutal death, falling into cement, but also had to face discrimination in his neighborhood, by other Hispanic communities, and injustices at work. Immigrants do not only face exploitation in New York, but it has also been demonstrated that in the Midwest, Mexican immigrants face similar discrimination and labor abuse in the meat packing industry.
"The main controversy lies in the passing of a plethera of laws throughout the existence of the US regulating immigration and in the handling of illegal immigration. Modern immigration polocies have recieved less and less publicity as tolerance becomes more widespread, although each person is entitled to their own opinion about the issue" (Conover 342).
...e live seem to be too dangerous for them to fell happy. However, they are against the evil and violence, ignorance and lie. Corchado is quite unsure about the future of Mexico, but he also sees that these people are strong willed and they have chance to make some change in the way they live. He doesn’t pay attention to politics, instead of that he relies solely on people, their courage and strong will. We should all be so strong enough to change, what we want to change, and preserve what we need to preserve. Alfredo Corchado showed us the example of how brave hearted a person should be and how much we should all love our motherland. After reading this book, you won’t remain ignorant about Mexico and the journalism in general.
“I do not believe that many American citizens . . . really wanted to create such immense human suffering . . . in the name of battling illegal immigration” (Carr 70). For hundreds of years, there has been illegal immigration starting from slavery, voluntary taking others from different countries to work in different parts of the world, to one of the most popular- Mexican immigration to the United States. Mexican immigration has been said to be one of the most common immigration acts in the world. Although the high demand to keep immigrants away from crossing the border, Mexicans that have immigrated to the U.S have made an impact on the American culture because of their self sacrifices on the aspiration to cross over. Then conditions
Among many of the highly disputed issues in the United States, illegal immigration is near the top, as it is continually growing and must be brought to an end. The term “illegal immigration” is used to describe the migration of people into another country without the government’s permission. Due to the United States’ highly desirable lifestyle, illegal immigration is more common than many other countries in the world. Even before the Constitution was written, significant political and social idols, such as Benjamin Franklin worried about the outcome of immigration. His ideas were particularly towards the increase of German immigrants, for he would caution that “Pennsylvania will in a few years become a German colony; instead of their learning our language, we must learn their, or live as in a foreign country.” Although Franklin’s thoughts influenced a large number of people living in the country, the first hundred years of the nation were established with an open border (Hing). This would welcome foreign nationals displaced by the ravages of war or persecuted by totalitarian governments in hope of a better life. The fourteenth amendment, ratified in 1868, would establish the rights of citizens, or legally recognized subjects or nationals of a state or commonwealth, either native or naturalized (McClenaghan). Many illegal immigrants refuse to assimilate into their surroundings of which they have brought themselves upon. They also take a variety of unskilled jobs that citizens could use, but instead become unemployed. The concept of immigration is what allowed the United States to flourish in its early years to the present day; however, when it is done illegally, it can hurt the domestic tranquility and security of the nation, as we...
Wellman, Christopher, and Phillip Cole. Debating the Ethics of Immigration is There a Right ti Exclude?. New York : Oxford University Press, 2011. Print.
The United States of America and its large diversity of cultures has been a melting pot of the early 20th century . This Country has constantly been rebuilt by immigrants making it the world 's leading destination country . Descendants from various countries such as southern and eastern Europe , Asia , Central and South America , including the Caribbean fully integrate the U.S. today . However , within the last several years there has been a long unsolved issue on behalf of millions of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. , and the question on behalf of whether they should be allowed to live in the U.S. without fear of deportation . Immigration in America has been one of the most controversial aspects of society and law . The demand for a change is high and the people 's voice in / to show this yet little , or no change has occurred .
Williamson, Chilton. "The ideology of unrestricted immigration." Modern Age 58.3 (2016): 19+. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 17 Oct.