Central American Social Mobility Essay

Many Central American immigrants have sought social mobility throughout the years. Central America has faced extreme political and economical instability, civil wars, natural disasters and boundary dispute. It has been difficult for Central Americans to remain living in their native countries. Migrating into the United States is something that a lot of Central Americans have viewed as an opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward mobility for them and their families. However, the migration to the United

States isn’t an easy process and that determines the level of mobility for several Central

American immigrants. Mobility can be upward, stable, or downward. The conceptualization of social mobility in the Central American

One of the most

dangerous places that Central American migrants go through is San Fernando,

Tamaulipas. In 2011, 193 mainly Central American immigrants were kidnapped and then massacred. Several hijackings of buses occurred and the delinquent group responsible for the actions were the drug cartel “Los Zetas”. The Zetas Cartel raped the women and forced the males to fight to death with other hostages. It’s pathetic that the Zetas used these awful plans in order to recruit new Central American members into their cartel.

Dreams for a better future were demolished in this tragic event. Afterwards, the Mexican federal government sent more than 500 military soldiers to Tamaulipas to combat the drug cartel forces and bring upon some tranquility within the citizens. The military base established was well-protected and provided complementary services to the citizens.

Many Central American immigrants view the United States as a symbol of pure freedom, but realize that vision gets blurred out once they arrive there. The media and other sources portray the vision of freedom. For example, television commercials can show happy American families celebrating Thanksgiving in a nice house.

The true beneficiaries of TPS should be temporary visitors, but illegal immigrants have not abandoned the opportunity to work in the U.S. With TPS,

Salvadorans are allowed to stay in the Unites States temporarily and work. Many decide to return to their homeland for sometime but are not aware of the limitations of TPS. “ In addition to the cost of the trip in direct terms (ticket) and indirect terms (lost earnings), a majority of the Salvadorans we encountered in New Jersey did not possess documentation that would enable them to cross the U.S-Mexico border at will”( Bailey,

Wright, Miyares, Mountz n.d) TPS offers travel documents that allow these immigrants to travel for a limited time. It is vital for TPS designees to return within the time period permitted to travel or else that would risk their protected status to stay in the United

States. TPS does not make it eligible for Salvadorans to obtain a green card. All in all, immigration policy will continue to determine the different aspects of mobility for Central American immigrants. While some immigrants today are content with their settlement in the United States, some other undocumented immigrants