Enrique's Journey Thesis

Would a life in America really make things better for an immigrant? In Sonia Nazario’s Enrique’s Journey, this question correlates with one of the many topics of the book. One of the topics is examining the approaches of immigration, as well as creating the social awareness of it. Nazario pulls it off well in the prologue by presenting a typical sob story of the many immigrant mothers of South America, which is one of the top five countries where its people immigrate to the United States. She also presents the various risks Central Americans have to go through such as the rides on the trains, how one can lose their limbs or life on them. This will make her goal of social awareness possible, and convince one to make a change.
The reality and

reliableness of such stories pull in the reader, intrigue them into finding out how much these type of people endure. Nazario tries to appeal to the general public most by these stories. She hopes to cause emotion, commotion in order for people to understand the meaning behind immigration. Nazario asks questions on the approach of immigration rather than trying to answer them. She challenges the authority throughout the whole book, and uses rhetorical devices as well as figurative language. Most people won’t argue with the facts, especially with a person’s own experience from “hell to back.”

Section II. The Book’s Argument
Within the book, Nazario presents her arguments in a manner where she will appeal to an emotion. In one of the early chapters, Enrique stumbled upon a Mexican city in which try to help him, but there was a man named Diaz, who questions “why do these Central American governments send us all their problems?” (Nazario, 47) The author tries to show the ignorance of the people in which the Mexican government has implanted into them, and due to bad encounters of immigrants. She indirectly implies this is the source of no change.
However, despite this witty logic, Nazario also has a flaw in her points.

She has talked to some Mexicans, who don’t have a prejudice against Central Americans, and their opinion on this matter. One of therm had said, “It’s wrong for our government to send people back to Central America. If we don’t want to be stopped from going into the United States, how can we stop Central Americans in our country?” (Nazario, 103) The flaw in this logic is that no matter how much a country wants recognition by the public, it is a illegal to immigrate it through an unverified form. The immigrants are arriving to America by sneaking through the darkest sewers, and any gap hole they can find on the border. They can achieve this by the lack of authority and enforcement of immigration.
Although Nazario has many flaws throughout the book, she makes an undying point with the problem of the governments in Central America. One of the Central Americans interviewed by Nazario had said, ““What would it take to keep people from leaving? There would have to be jobs. Jobs that pay okay. That’s all” (Nazario, 260) What would it take for leaders to be a little less selfish and blinded by power? That’s what Nazario is trying to send, and uses the right rhetorical device of pathos and ethos; appealing to anger, pity, and having the facts of people who know some of the

truth.
Section III. Researched Points of View
There are many sources in which both agree and disagree with Nazario’s way of thinking. Firstly, the Knight Ridder Newspapers have written a book review on Enrique’s Journey. They say on how Enrique’s experience isn’t all new, and how “murder is common. Bloated bodies routinely turn up in the river or the desert as gangs battle for control of the smuggling. Children often find their mothers, only to face years of anger at having been abandoned in the first place. And mothers, who have worked long hours to send back money, resent the children's ingratitude.” With this, Nazario’s book backs the statement up completely. It shouldn’t be a common thing to witness the death of one or to experience it, nor should it be common to see families being torn apart. Enrique’s Journey created social awareness to prevent murder and destruction of family unity to be a ‘common’ experience for anyone.
In the cartoon above, it is implied of what should have been simple “generosity” and “an act of kindness,” but turned out to be much worse than expected.

Three million immigrants per year is a possible disruption of the economy, especially if there’s children involved. The Central governments know this, and take advantage of it due to no president or even a politic ever taking a stand against it. The lack of enforcement, strict laws, and many other things have caused the illegal aliens to be symbolized in the picture as a “tsunami.” This cartoon defies on what Nazario is saying. How come the United States must have their economy destroyed but restore Central America’s? The act of selflessness in politics and economic problems are not welcomed, and should not be

preached.
There is also a source which, yet again, disagrees with Nazario’s philosophy. An issue for many Americans and immigrants is jobs. But, a flaw with the government in recent years, they have decided to “give amnesty to 12 million or more illegals. That means letting a huge number of them keep the jobs they have stolen from American workers. Federal law prohibits illegal aliens from working in the U.S. Amnesty means that they are not only forgiven for entering the country illegally, they are rewarded with keeping a job that rightfully belongs to an American worker.” Although immigrants come for a better opportunity, it is not right to steal away a job that was originally meant to be someone else’s. A job should be earned earnestly by knowledge and dedication. An immigrant is illegally coming to the state, breaking laws by having a job. Most of immigrants also make fake citizenships in order to keep a job, an injustice that should not be praised.
Another source will also tackle on a different problem: the environment and the United States population. According to data, there has been the highest growths in immigration since 2008. It is said that this growth has “dramatically increased demand for roads, schools, hospitals, freshwater and housing, all of which will have negative impacts on America's environmental capacity. Researchers say that for every person added to the U.S. population, one acre of natural habitat is lost to developed use.” The influx of immigrants are ruining their country of opportunity when they left their original country for the same logic. If this growth continues, America will be no better than Central American governments. The Earth is being destroyed because some people couldn’t make any change to their home, and decided to leave it.
Section IV. Conclusion
Firstly, Nazario tries to persuade her readers, mainly using pathos and ethos. Pathos, by presenting her readers with the typical sob stories of immigrants and their struggle. Ethos, by demonstrating statistics throughout the book. The one used repeatedly is pathos, as seen through the book on Enrique’s journey to the United States. Nazario tries to appeal to the emotion of pity and frustration; she wants the social awareness of the public on immigration.