Third heading: What quotes had an impact on you and why? There were many quotes throughout the book, In the Country We L1ove, that had an impact on me because I either learned something new about Diane Guerrero that I did not already know, I could relate to a few parts of her book, and my perspective of supporting undocumented immigrants grew stronger. The first quote that I decided to use is when Guerrero describes Colombia, the country where her parents are from. “The entire scene was chaotic. Colorful. Exotic. Wild. And, because of the straight-up poverty, it was also a bit unsettling… I was stuck with a realization: This could have been my life (Guerrero 111).” In making this comment, Guerrero is informing the reader that her parents grew up …show more content…
In addition, I could make a connection with this quote because whenever I go to visit my parent’s homeland, Mexico, I feel grateful and humbled because that could have been my life as well. One of the few things I learned from In the Country We Love, was that ICE could arrest someone from their home or vehicle as long as they have a warrant. This is best seen on page 48 when an immigration officer arrests Guerrero’s mother, “An hour later, just as Mami turned back onto our block, the police pulled her over… He opened her door and asked her to step out-and when she did, he asked her to put her hands up. “We have a warrant for your arrest, ma’am,” he told her as he slapped a set of handcuffs on her wrists (Guerrero 48).” Later on in the book, Guerrero explains that the reason why her mother was arrested in the first place was because someone informed the immigration officer that they were in the country illegally. In other words, ICE does not randomly go looking for immigrants, someone has to inform them, which then turns into probable cause and eventually becomes a warrant for an arrest. Going off the last quote, I did however, know
In a story of identity and empowerment, Juan Felipe Herrera’s poem “Borderbus” revolves around two Honduran women grappling with their fate regarding a detention center in the United States after crawling up the spine of Mexico from Honduras. While one grapples with their survival, fixated on the notion that their identities are the ultimate determinant for their future, the other remains fixated on maintaining their humanity by insisting instead of coming from nothingness they are everything. Herrera’s poem consists entirely of the dialogue between the two women, utilizing diction and imagery to emphasize one’s sense of isolation and empowerment in the face of adversity and what it takes to survive in America.
In Richard Rodriguez’s “Proofs,” Mexican immigrant’s destination is described, as well as their perceptions and expectations of America. Rodriguez describes the passage to the United States as difficult, yet worthy. He states: “The city will win. The city will give the children all the village could not- VCR’s, hairstyles, drum beat. The city sings mean songs, dirty songs. But the city will sing the children a great Protestant hymn.You can be anything you want to be.” He also states: “Mexico is poor. But mama says there
A leading American historian on race, policing, immigration, and incarceration in the United States, Kelly Lytle Hernandez’s Migra! A History of the U.S. Border Patrol tells the story of how Mexican immigrant workers emerged as the primary target of the United States Border Patrol and how, in the process, the United States Border Patrol shaped the history of race in the United States. Migra! also explores social history, including the dynamics of Anglo-American nativism, the power of national security, and labor-control interests of capitalistic development in the American southwest. In short, Migra! explains
On one hand we can see that she pushes back and challenges her tradition on the other hand it is difficult to not see emotion expressed by herself when she is alone. One scene that does do this is when she is buying condoms for the first time but does not know what to purchase. This small but significant scene revels that although she is strong and ready she also needs guidance through her path of adulthood. She is able to ask a pharmacist for advice but not her own mother. This lack of connection to be open up to mothers is emphasized enough to create awareness that young Mexican American women need someone to talk to and it should preferably be their
In the book Drink Cultura by Jose Antonio Burciaga talks about how it is not easy to get into one place and get anything you want in this world or something you wish for, but it’s something you have to work for, like any other person. It also explains how it is being an immigrant, and how it is to grow up in the United States as in immigrant and how had it is, and the obstacles that as in immigrant we have to overcome. Antonio Burciaga specifically talks in his book the Chicano history, the language that we speak as a person, the family values and how we as a Chicano stick together. One quote of Burciaga is “Naces pendejo, mueres pendejo --- You were born a pendejo and you will die a pendejo (Burciaga10)”. This particular quote caught my attention because the author gives you a taste of what he experienced, and what kind of language they used. “When the wells of emotion are filled only by resentment, a crying sense of injustice, racist, affronts, deliberately designed frustrations to personal development and social worthiness (Burciaga131)”. This quote talks about how we as Chicanos have the motivation by bringing in our passion from the past, but as soon as someone brings that wall down of us having that one positive outcome, we can go into a lot of resentment towards other people, and think to ourselves at some point that we are worthiness. In chapter “The Motherland” the author talks about the pride people take about being Latinos, he talks about being back in Mexico and how it’s all so different once you’ve lived on the other side, a quote that gives you a mental picture would be “Many white Euro-Mexican will shrug their shoulders, declare they are 100 percent Mexican do not partition or categorize their ancestry. On the contr...
I thought that Diane Guerrero who is an American actress speech about her family’s deportation was interesting. She recently appeared on an immigration themed of Chelsea handler’s talk show. Guerrero is the citizen daughter of immigrant parents. Guerrero mentioned how her family was taken away from her when she was just 14 years old. “Not a single person at any level of government took any note of me. No one checked to see if i had a place to live or food to eat, and at 14, i found myself basically on my own”, Guerrero added. Luckily, Guerrero had good friends to help her. She told handler how her family try to become legal but there were no sign or help. Her parents lost their money to scammers who they believed to be a lawyer. When her family’s
Joshua Davis writes how on a drive back to Phoenix there was an immigration checkpoint, “Everybody’s heart rate kicked up…and Oscar prepared for the worst. He imagined being torn from his family and dropped across the border” (107). This is a constant fear illegal immigrants live with. Since my parents and oldest brother had no papers, I lived with constant paranoia. I was scared that from one moment to the next my family will be taken from me, and that I would have to grow up in a foster home without them. This fear was always there whenever I saw police, no matter the reason police was there. Illegal immigrants wake up every day with the uncertainty if it will be last day they see their families. I felt the same fear Oscar and the boys felt that day, because it will be horrible to be separated from a
Even though Yolanda has a more stable financial household her parents are just as demanding as Mari’s. They require Yolanda to stay focused on school so she can be able to attend college and achieve a high a paying career. Traditional ideas of ‘if you work hard enough you can achieve it’ are presented in the film. Expectations of family are high for Yolanda as she comes from an immigrant family. The need for Yolanda to succeed is crucial as it defines the American dream her parents want her to obtain. Yolanda is faced with an obligation to achieve the American dream her parents so hard worked for. Deviating from these expectations translates into an ungrateful daughter that does not care about what family thinks. Family, for most Latinos is the most important thing. Adding to this idea is being an immigrant; where family is the only thing we have, and know. Keeping the family together is one of the main points in Yolanda’s household; we can conclude that it might be more important than achieving the American dream.
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.”
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.
The author is using personal experience to convey a problem to his or her audience. The audience of this piece is quite broad. First and foremost, Mexican-Americans just like the author. People who can relate to what the author has to say, maybe someone who has experienced something similar. The author also seems to be seeking out an audience of white Americans who find themselves unaware of the problem at our borders. The author even offers up a warning to white America when she notes, “White people traveling with brown people, however, can expect to be stopped on suspicion they work with the sanctuary movement”(125). The purpose of this writing is to pull out a problem that is hidden within or society, and let people see it for what it is and isn’t.
Latinos who were raised in the United States of America have a dual identity. They were influenced by both their parents' ancestry and culture in addition to the American culture in which they live. Growing up in between two very different cultures creates a great problem, because they cannot identify completely with either culture and are also caught between the Spanish and English languages. Further more they struggle to connect with their roots. The duality in Latino identity and their search for their own personal identity is strongly represented in their writing. The following is a quote that expresses this idea in the words of Lucha Corpi, a Latina writer: "We Chicanos are like the abandoned children of divorced cultures. We are forever longing to be loved by an absent neglectful parent - Mexico - and also to be truly accepted by the other parent - the United States. We want bicultural harmony. We need it to survive. We struggle to achieve it. That struggle keeps us alive" ( Griwold ).
The struggle to find a place inside an un-welcoming America has forced the Latino to recreate one. The Latino feels out of place, torn from the womb inside of America's reality because she would rather use it than know it (Paz 226-227). In response, the Mexican women planted the seeds of home inside the corral*. These tended and potted plants became her burrow of solace and place of acceptance. In the comfort of the suns slices and underneath the orange scents, the women were free. Still the questions pounded in the rhythm of street side whispers. The outside stare thundered in pulses, you are different it said. Instead of listening she tried to instill within her children the pride of language, song, and culture. Her roots weave soul into the stubborn soil and strength grew with each blossom of the fig tree (Goldsmith).
Hector Esperanza, an immigrant from Mexico who has lived in Los Angeles almost his entire life begins the novel by introducing what he believes the American dream is all about. He says, “We run into this American dream with a determination to shed everything we know and love that weighs us down if we have any hope of survival. This is how we learn to navigate the terrain” (Skyhorse 1). Hector is essentially saying in order for one to obtain what one wants, one must lose things in order to gain. Loss can be people, culture, homes, anything that meant a lot to someone and they gave it up in order to set a better life for themselves in America. To become...
Vaughan, Jessica M. “Aliens Who Overstay Their Visas Are a Serious Security Threat.” Opposing Viewpoints: Immigration. Eds. David M. Haugen, Susan Musser and Kacy Lovelace. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2009. 182-193. Print.