Immigration

In today's world, immigration is a very hot topic. After reading Crossing Borders, I was actually surprised at some of the information I found. I never truly knew what a problem immigration was. It seems to be a topic that stumps republicans to find a solution, as well as a source of conflict for the public. I do on the otherhand understand both sides of the argument. Some people say that these illegal immigrants are taking our health care. Others say that we treat them unjust. In my eyes both of these are right. The thing that surprised me in this chapter, is just how unjust these immigrants are treated, whether they be illegal or not. Although Mexicans only represent one in twenty four workers in the United states, they make up one in four teen deaths on the job. One particular viewpoint, from a women who worked in an factory highly inhibited by immigrants, was a real eye opener on the issue. In this factory, women were given stereotypical jobs as well as paid below minimum wage with no benefits. It was also obvious and known to the boss that some of the employees were not legal. They are definitely not given healthcare as well. Many of these immigrants could be found being shoved into vans, and taken back across the border, without even getting to say bye to family members. Also it is known that these immigrants are taken back to their countries just days before pay day. This hardly seems to be a coincidence. So this means that these people put in their time and effort for literally no pay. Do I think that anyone should be able to live in the United States whenever they want? I honestly do not. If our economy cannot support them than it will only be hurting everyone. On the other hand I certainly do not think that people should be tricked into working for free. Any person would rather be reported then work for a month and be reported just days before they receive compensation. I would be very intersted to learn more about immigration, because neither I, nor any other educated person seems to know what to do about this issue.

Immigration, Out of Control?

Immigration is a very big issue that is often brought up in the news and media. Now that the country is preparing for another presidential election, the controversy of immigration is once again an uncommon headline in the news.

Living in Texas, Mexican immigration is an almost casual topic that many are used to hearing about. Are the borders too out of control for laws and government influence? Have laws in the past actually made a significant influence on the rate of immigration?

The articles in Global Issues, Local Arguments, the other side of immigration to light. Simply because the United States is such a rich and prosperous country, millions of individuals world wide have a strong desire to come here. They want better lives for themselves and for their families. Is that anything out of the ordinary? Countries like Mexico have developed a "social acceptance of illegal immigration as a route to economic survival and the desperation and persistence of [its] immigrants." These individuals are willing to risk everything just for the chance to come to the United States, whether it be legally with a possible college degree, or illegally, resulting in a hard life of underpaid labor. Are they so desperate to secure a lifetime of freedom for the future generations of their family that they are willing to work in harsh conditions for the rest of their lives?

Although I understand why the problem of immigration is such a controversial issue in today's economy, something should be said about the courage of these immigrants who are willing to risk even death to achieve the lifestyle they want. Isn't that really what following your dreams is about?

Immigration

Since we live in Texas, we should all be well informed about the issues regarding immigration. The fact that stood out in my mind is the number of illegal immigrants residing in the United States (eight to ten million). I had no idea illegal immigrants would account for so many residents, continuing to increase hundreds of thousands each year. I also thought the way immigrants are treated in the United States is completely unfair. These immigrants come to America from undeveloped countries in order to find a job. The income they would receive would then be used to provide for their children so that they may experience opportunities they would not have had if they had not immigrated to America. Yet these immigrants are treated the same way they would be treated working for a big corporation at home. They work under dangerous conditions and are paid very little. America is considered the land of opportunity. After reading chapter four in Global Issues, Local Arguments, I wonder if these opportunities are really only limited to natural born citizens.

LA MIGRA!!!

So where I live in Houston, the illegal folks hang out by the Home Depot and some random gas station every morning waiting for work. My friends and I always found it very exciting to drive by and scream 'LA MIGRA!' or to drive a truck up real close and whistle like we wanted work done...and then drive away. I guess that's kind of mean though and I've totally grown up (since that was probably 2 or 3 years ago...ya know). But it definitely isn't as mean as the factory bosses who actually call the immigration people to take away some illegals right before pay periods. I think that the whole illegal worker thing is great. They are getting paid tons more than they would in their home countries and we (whoever we may be) pay super crazy low wages for super crazy awesome work. Why not let them stay and work the menial jobs that most Americans are 'too good for' in the first place. I can't understand why some people, who complain that they don't get paid enough or refuse to work degrading jobs, freak out about illegals who are working their asses off to make whatever little money they can. The illegals seem to love doing it too. One time my mom brought one of the guys from the gas station to clean up our back yard (because I was too lazy to do it), and he freaking filled a good two dozen bags of leaves in a few hours. I think my mom paid him 5 or 6 bucks and hour and gave him some food, but the dude was completely happy.

Immigration 101: a new point of view

One aspect that i liked about the articles especially "crossing borders" was that as much as i've heard about how much immigration is "affecting Americans", we've never seen it from the immigrants point of view. I loved in Esperanza Borboa's personal account, when talking about the illegal immigrants she was working with, said "working and getting to know these men and women, I was learning what they were willing to risk and suffer just for the opportunity to work and provide for themselves and their children, something they couldn't do in their home countries." This brings to light the suffering these people are doing that we as Americans just simply ignore. Esperanza's personal account made me even more sympathetic to those who come to America looking for a fresh start. Whether they are brought in because of "push" or "pull" factors as discussed on page 128. I must say this reading, beyond the new knowledge I gained, softened my heart for immigrants. Like i've always said, there are always two sides to any story. This is the first time, as much as i have been exposed to the issue of immigration, i saw the story from the other side.

Thoughts on Immigration

I thought the reading for Tuesday was really interesting. It brings up the debate America has been having for years: are Latin American immigrants good for the economy by providing cheap labor? Or are they aliens breaking the law and taking American jobs? I think the even if we do need them, the way employers take advantage of them is crazy! I never knew that employers would call La Migra on its employees when they had already done all the work and payday was coming up! Thanks just evil!
I’m interested in the different policies and proposals that were suggested in the text. I like the idea that Guest worker policies would enable both legal and illegal immigrants 3 year visas to work in the United States. I think that it would give us a lot more control over what’s going on, and what’s passing through Mexico into the United States. I don’t think that there’s any point of trying to stop immigration, everyone wants to be a part of the American dream and people are willing to do the impossible to make that happen. The best thing we can do is try and protect them or we’d simply be supporting a modern day slavery on our own soil.

Immigration

I found both of these articles to be somewhat fascinating . I thought that Esperanza Borboa’s experience was quite interesting. Before, I had never heard of employers who turn their illegal immigrant workers in just before payday. It just shows how messed up corporations and companies can be; trying to save every penny possible even if it ruin’s someone else’s life. Bhagwati’s article somewhat ties in with the previous reading, but I am not really sure what the definition of a diaspora model is. What I got from it is that educated immigrants can help their developing countries back home. I agree with him when he talks about how the government must intervene in order to control how the nation prospers. In developing countries, I think the government should take some responsibility and perhaps create jobs so their citizens can have a better standard of living. It appears that for a developing country to become a developed country, the government must take action whether it is creating jobs or controlling immigration, but that is just what I think.