Analysis Of The Other Side Of Immigration

The American dream, as some may call it, is a cherished idea by those who may lack opportunities. For those in Mexico, it is something that is sure to have crossed their minds sometime in their life. The United States, to foreigners, has been looked at as a sign of opportunity and freedom from oppressive governments or unfortunate living conditions. The Other Side of Immigration takes a look at the Mexican nation and provides thought-provoking interview segments about the people still living in the nation who experience and observe the effects of immigration to the United States.

The Other Side of Immigration begins with a flood of interview style opinions and experiences of Mexican people on their side of the United States border. The segments

The usage of these colors bring the audience straight to attention, helping us absorb the information given. Soon, you realize how desolate and empty the places seem after seeing some of the area. The towns seem empty at times, showing the relevance of ghost towns (communities where so many migrants might be away in the United States that the community itself may seem to have disappear). Houses in these areas might not even be occupied- whole families having moved to the United States for better work-related opportunities. Rurally, the areas lack crops altogether. Touched on in the film, NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement) is one reason why the agriculture in the area has been lacking. Originally thought to be a good idea, the United States put NAFTA into place to try to get rid of the need for Mexicans to migrate for work. After ten years, it actually ruined about two million Mexican subsistence farmers’ livelihoods. Additionally, it caused even more migration to the United States. The film provides good information about some families affected more specifically, such as pig farmers having to move after not being able to sell their products due to such low prices from United States

The Mexican government is known to be corrupt- reinforcement coming from the people interviewed in the film. Various federalist and centralist politicians in the Mexican history have been known to bribe for votes, made apparent by the film to occur even at the local level with municipal presidents. Contributing to the push factor to the U.S., corrupt government bodies push the natives towards leaving by providing no benefits that were promised, such as “lotteries” for those who fill out documentation proving that welfare was properly disbursed when no welfare was given. It was said that the Mexican people depend more on their relatives in the United States than they do on the government (e.g. money sent back to fund patron saints and festivals or just for family support). This is an amazing example given by the film about exploitation- a common occurrence in the political history of