Being Undocumented Immigrants Essay

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There is an abundance of Mexican people who have come to America, illegally, and decided to make it their home. By working hard, labour intensive cash jobs and living in the shadows, they hope to achieve financial and legal stability and long to be able to live the American Dream. In going through this tough, everlasting process, the illegal population faces many hardships as they find themselves in completely new, unknown environments, with different cultural norms and values. The idea of being an Alien in a new country can be terrifying, “researchers have faced challenges to understanding the emotional and psychological effects of being undocumented, including a fear of confiding in others as well as pain associated with the experience …show more content…

In order for those people to keep living in the country, they are forced to isolate themselves in order to protect their identity and keep their culture alive. Just like in Geraldo’s case, he had to keep his identity masked and it must’ve taken a toll on him to think that he cannot openly talk to anyone about anything that goes on in his life. As the immigrants negotiate their acculturation process, they face challenges to their ethnic identity. “Ethnic identity refers to a dynamic and multidimensional construct that includes identification of oneself as a member of a particular ethnic group, positive evaluation of and involvement in the group, preference for the group, sense of belonging, and involvement in group activities. Exposure to discrimination can trigger the exploration of racial and ethnic identity” (Chen, Ellis). Having an ethnic identity is crucial to someone as a person, it gives them a sense of belonging in a bigger group, with the same type of people, they don’t feel like they are social nomads who don’t belong due to their race and legal status. In “Geraldo No Last Name,” Geraldo seemed to be a young guy enjoying his life in the States, despite his illegal status, he went out to clubs to dance and drink and enjoy

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