The Creation of Illegal Immigrants in the United States: Undocumented Women & Work, Family, Health.
Introduction: America now houses 42.2 million legal and illegal immigrants, according to data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. Ten million of these immigrants live in California, approximately ¼ of the total population. The subject of this paper, a 54-year old undocumented women employed as a domestic worker referred to as Myra, was interviewed with the purpose of obtaining a better understanding of the intersecting factors of race, class, gender, and legal status in the experiences of immigrants in the United States. Myra represents only one of 10 million, and as such she cannot be held as a representative of all undocumented women from Mexico, much less all immigrants. However, her experiences do provide some useful insight into the daily lives & perspectives of women in similar situations. In particular, her role as a mother shone through as a motivator in remaining in the United States and obtaining access to social services such as healthcare.
Myra came to the United States in 2000,
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When speaking of the journey, she primarily recalls the constant fear of getting caught and traveling for several hours with little sleep.* She “put a watch on [her] daughter to keep track of the time. . . my god, it felt so much longer than it took.” However, before speaking of her individual experience, she noted a detail that gave her immigration status some reassurance: Myra’s father came to the United States in the 1980’s, having been granted asylum under the Reagan administration. This, coupled with her similarly undocumented husband’s work in the fields surrounding the L.A. area gave Myra a sense that the United States could be adopted as a second home, with a light-hearted note that “God sees everyone as legal, anyway.” The situation of Myra’s family has roots in
In “ Undocumented Latinas: The New Employable Mother”, the author argues that undocumented Hispanic women living in the United States should receive equal rights as documented workers living in the United States. Domestic workers who have been continuously contributing to the economy, paying their taxes and just praying, wishing and hoping for change and a more prosperous future for their children. Hispanic woman and mothers who work rigorously day to day. These Hispanic women are not only workers, they are mothers and nurturers who are just trying to survive in this country. During the last decade, there has been an increase of Latin American Immigrants migrating to the United States. Which presumptuously insinuates the idea that more
After reading The Book of the Unknown Americans, I realized how difficult immigrating to the United States can be. I am an immigrant also, so just reading the story makes me relate to many problems immigrants experience relocating to a different country. Immigrants often face many issues and difficulties, but for some it is all worth it, but for others there comes a point in time where they have to go back to their hometown. Alma and Arturo Rivera came to the United States to better their life, but also so that Maribel could attend a special education school. While Arturo had a job things had gone well for the family, but once Arturo lost the job and passed away the two of them had to go back because they felt that that was the best option for them. Reading this book made me realize how strong an individual has to be to leave their own country and relocate somewhere else not knowing if this will better your life or cause one to suffer.
Eleanor Roosevelt said, “the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” That statement holds strong for immigrants in America. Equal access to opportunities allows immigrants to achieve the American dream. Their success correlates with America’s success because of the contributions immigrants provide to America. Unfortunately, the current immigration policy in America denies many immigrants the American dream. It is crucial to understand the historical context of immigration in America. Initially, most immigrants were from Europe and were not restricted by any immigration laws. Now, most immigrants come from Latin America but are restricted to severe immigration laws. The Latino/a community is one of the most severely affected groups because the current immigration system disproportionally affects Latino/as. Recognizing how the experience of Latino/a immigrants have been both similar and different in the past from other immigrant groups and dispelling common misconceptions about Latino/as today bring an awareness how Latino/as are affected.
Martinez, Demetria. 2002. “Solidarity”. Border Women: Writing from la Frontera.. Castillo, Debra A & María Socorro Tabuenca Córdoba. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 168- 188.
The United States of America, being a country founded by immigrants, is known all over the world as the land of great opportunities. People from all walks of life travelled across the globe, taking a chance to find a better life for them and their family. Over the years, the population of immigrants has grown immensely, resulting in the currently controversial issue of illegal immigration. Illegal immigrants are the people who have overstayed the time granted on their US, visa or those who have broken the federal law by crossing the border illegally. Matt O’Brien stated in his article “The government thinks that 10.8 million illegal immigrants lived in the country in January 2009, down from a peak of nearly 12 million in 2007.”(Para, 2) While some argue that illegal immigrants burden the United States of America and its economy, others believe that they have become essential and are an important part of the US, economy.
The subject of this paper is Liz, a 52-year old, 1.5 generation female immigrant from Hong Kong. What this means is that she immigrated to the United States when she was a child, around 7-years old (Feliciano Lec. 1/4/2016). As a child of a family that consists of five siblings and two parents that did not speak any English prior to immigrating, the focus of this paper will be on the legal processes that the family went through to become legal immigrants and the various factors that aided in her path towards assimilation.
Ngai, Mae M. 2004 “Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America” Publisher: Princeton University Press.
Ngai, Mae M. Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America. Princeton, N.J. [u.a.: Princeton Univ. Press, 2004. Print.
My mother is an outspoken woman. In her tiny appearance lies an extraordinary fortitude story. Bravery is a virtue that not a lot of people possess, but my mother has proven her courageousness. Before my mother gave birth to me, she lived in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. Her family lived in poverty, and every bit of food was valued and cherished at their table. It’s hard to tell whether my mother’s decision to migrate to the United States was an act of courage or impatience. She certainly had no bright future at home, her parents could barely afford used clothes from the town’s thrift shop. She certainly wanted to find a way to turn her life around and provide the needs for her family, so she decided to come to “The land of opportunities.”
Throughout the course of my life, I have always encountered individuals wanting to better their economic situation especially those within my community. Those who come from impoverished communities in other countries risk their lives and lifetime savings to come to the United States hoping that one day they will regain everything that they lost. Their only motivation to come to this country is to be able to provide their family with basic necessities and in order to do this, they must work two or more jobs that pay at minimum wage and are taken for granted. However, many individuals do not see this side of the story and categorize immigrants as unambitious people. In order to be completely aware of what immigrants truly go through and how they succeed in life, one must be willing to place themselves in their shoes and hear his/her story. We must acknowledge that the hands of these people work in back breaking jobs in order to sustain their families. While some Americans may be against immigrants arriving to the United States in search of a better life and the American Dream, in The Madonnas of Echo Park, Brando Skyhorse further reveals that immigrants are exploited as cheap labor, and although they contribute greatly to the everyday function of American industry, they are quite invisible.
Like any other family, they immigrated to the U.S. thinking about the American Dream, a better future for their kids and the generations to come. The parents wanted to provide the life they did not have to their children. One example is Carlos mother deciding she was willing to leave Mexico for her son. The book says, “Manuela was hesitant to return to the United States but felt there would be more opportunity for her younger son there… In the United States, school was free…and more demanding” (Davis 43). Manuela did not want to leave, but she knew her son would have a brighter education in the U.S. Later on it also shows the struggles of achieving what they desire because they were illegal. Another example is Oscar himself. Goins, the ROTC commander told Carlos, “you gotta be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident” (Davis 51). Oscar was trying to enroll in the Army, but unfortunately he could not serve his country like he wished because he had du that he was not legal in the country and would be taking a privilege from U.S.
Jose Antonio Vargas’s article on My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant is a writing about his childhood journey from the Philippines to the United States as an Undocumented Immigrant. Vargas writes this article to emphasize the topic of immigrant and undocumented immigrant in the United States. He uses all three appeals: pathos, ethos, and logic in his writing, in specific, he mostly uses pathos throughout of his entire article with a purpose for the reader to sympathize and to feel compassion for him. The use of these appeals attract many readers, they can feel and understand his purpose is to ask for others to join and support other people who undocumented immigrant like himself. In addition, it gives other undocumented immigrant people courage
In the work with immigrant women who are often marginalized members of society can be encouraged to engage in social activism and connection (Sue and Sue, 2010). This can mean different things for different individuals and it is important that this encouragement is done in a way that is consistent with the strengths of the client with consideration for their needs and goals. Immigrant women can take up volunteering at local community centers to support other immigrants or lobbying lawmakers regarding immigration policies and services available to support those marginalized in the community. The purpose of such social engagement is to increase self-esteem and engage in social transformation in a way that can lead to the restructuring and enhancement of personal beliefs and
Addressing the issues of women’s hardships and further hardships regarding Latina women, this discussion will address cultural barriers set by the Latino race not to state Latino/as bring each other down, but simply stating what may be seen as a side effect of this cultural standard. To address the cultural barrier, it must first be understood what this cultural barrier is, this has to deal with Latina women being caretaker of families. It may seem as a stereotypical ideal, but in reality Latina are responsible for family affairs that regard the household environment. “Latinas with family responsibilities, the salience of ...
Haines, David W and Rosenblum, Karen E.: Illegal Immigration in America: A Reference Handbook. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. 1999. EBook. , Database: eBook Collection (EBSCOhost).