The Risks of Child Immigration
Introduction:
Why are more and more children crossing the border? Most children migrate to the United States because their parents have left them behind in their mother countires with their family members such as their grandmothers. Others however migrate because their parents want them to have a brighter future that they could never have in their mother countries. Some children flee because the violence in their mother countries has recently risen and their lives are in danger. Every day, many children die trying to reach the United States. It is very tragic to see so many children risk their lives tryning to cross the border that separates them from the United States. Those that don’t die generally end up injured
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or are caught by immigration. Several of the children are usually injured from freight trains and also by gangs who exploit from them. Many young girls end up being raped along their journey and some girls are even killed after they have been raped. There are very few children that actually make it into the United States without an injury and without having been caught by immigration. Whenever people think of immigrants migrating to the United States, they always suppose that it is an adult crossing the border; however, they never assusme it’s a child. In the book Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario, Enrique follows his mom into the United States after growing up without her. Although the journey soon becomes troubling and difficult, the end result makes it all worth it. The Book’s Arguments: Throughout the book Sonia Nazario makes the point that in order to stop people from migrating into the United States, we need to help them in their own country.
All through the book, Nazario uses modes of persuasion such as ethos, pathos, and logos to prove her point. Like Enrique, about “75 percent” of the children that immigrate to the United States from Central America and Mexico “are looking for their mothers” (Nazario 5). Nazario uses statistics through logos to show us how many of the children grow up without their mother and look for them once they get older. As a journalist, Sonia Nazario can not “get involved personally with the people [she writes] about” because her “credibilitiy depends on keeping it straight with the readers” (Nazario 261). Nazario uses ethos in order to show people that she is a credibile source. By explaing her motives for interfering, Nazario reveals how she tried to help Enrique and his family the way she would like others to help the immigrants that are anguished. Transito Encarnaion Martines Hernandez “lost both feet” and Leti Isabela Mejia Yanes as “a single mother” of “three children” has “lost both legs” (Nazario 95). Nazario uses pathos to allow the reader to be able to feel sympathy for the immigrants and what they have gone through. Nazario was able to strongly prove her points with the help of modes of persuasion, however, her strongest points in the book were mostly those using pathos because they were able to impact the people more than the
others. Researched Points of View: Other articles support the point that Nazario tried to make in Enrique’s journey about helping the migrants in their own country, however, some articles don’t see the point Nazario was trying to make. Although “some Americans strongly oppose” immigration because “it’s a crime,” “you won't be able to stop the crime until you understand its origins” (Ealy) In this book review of Enrique’s Journey, the author is trying to emphasize that even though immigrating can be a crime, if we don’t look at the reason behind the immigration we’re never going to be happy with it. This political cartoon shown below, shows how the government has allowed children to cross the border and is now overflowing with too many. To these children, the government has show a helping hand just like Nazario shows we should do. Nonetheless, the government has brought them into the states instead of helping their mother countries. Because “it will discourage undocumented migrants from crossing the Mexican border,” California voters want to “cut educational and medical services to illegal immigrants” which are paid by “California taxpayers” (Reform or resentment). Instead of wanting to help the immigrants, most Califonia voters are hoping to reach their goal of getting rid of immigrants. Unlike the other articles that support Nazario’s point of view on immigrants, this article believes in helping noone but themselves. Many of the children that immigrate to the United States are offered SIJS to “children declared by a state court to be unable to reunify with one or both parents” and in order to help “the child can petition U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for SIJS status” and if ganted can become a “permanent U.S. resident” (Chen). The government is trying to look out for the children in need by offering them the chance to stay in the United States. Although there are some people that will not agree with Nazario’s view of the issue, there are others that not only will agree but will try to do something about it. Conclusion: After having read Enrique’s Journey myself, I agree with the point that Nazario was trying to make all throught the book about helping the immigrants. The only way that we can stop immigration into the United States is by helping the migrants and their mother countries. that way they won’t have a reason to cross the border. By helping them, we are able to cease the deaths of many children and grown men and women from freight trains and other violent things. The people will no longer have to put themselves in danger because they will be safe in their own countries. After doing all of my research, I have come to realize that like Nazario, many people do share her view on the issue. Although there are some that oppose, the majority wants to help and most are already helping. I whole heartedly agee with both Nazario and the articles I have read. It is amazing how the government is willing to allow children that are unable to reunify with atleast one parent for reasons like abuse, stay in the United States. In the future, I hope that our country will be more willing to do things like these in order to help the immigrants.
In “Enrique’s Journey”, by Sonia Nazario a young boy from Honduras, sets out to reunite with his mother, Lourdes, that abandoned him when he was just five years old. Lourdes leaves to the United States, in hopes to find a better job as an immigrant and to better provide for her family. After many years of suffering without his mom, he travels through Central America to the United States in order to finally reunite with her. He finds his mother beginning to move on as she has a little daughter, named Diana. They run into problems of resentment. Will they be able to finally be a family? Sonia develops this theme of family by using specific facts and characterization. Importance
Each day more and more immigrants legally or illegally cross the US border in search of
I have heard fascinating stories about vans and cars full of Mexicans being pulled over, taken to the border police and deported back to their residence as they attempt to cross the border. Some of them are lucky enough to make it through their journey while some lose their lives. Every year many people try to enter illegally in the United States to get success in their life, to get a better job and sometimes to get united with their families. There is no doubt that the journey of crossing the border is very dangerous and sometimes life threatening. It is understandable when adults are trying to risk their life in search of a better life but when minors take the same attempt and risk their life what are we supposed to do as parents or family? In the film Which Way Home director Rebecca Cammisa shows the journey that many unaccompanied minors attempt with the hope of migrating across the Mexican-U.S. border for a better life is actually a potentially fatal passage. “Each year, the Border Patrol apprehends 100,000 children try to enter the US” (Which Way Home). By showing different consequences of crossing border Cammisa tries to create awareness among parents and even in the children. Parents should not give permission to their children to cross the border and children who have no parents also should not try to cross it. Through her documentary, she tries to educate teenagers and their parents about the risks and dangers of crossing the border illegally. In the documentary Cammisa shows that there are people who know about the possible consequences, but still ignore it, and at the end they regret of taking such an attempt. Through her documentary Cammisa also warns them not to make such decisions because at the end they are not...
The autobiography Journey of Hope Memoirs of a Mexican Girl and the documentary short “Children in No Man’s Land” has brought into light three important topics that are results of immigration. The first is the “American dream” and the notion of yearning to migrate abroad to seek dreams formed by misconceptions of the limited knowledge one has of their destination. The second is assimilation and the process of assimilating oneself to their new homeland. The third is a unique situation presented in both these works, which is estrangement from their family members. This paper attempts to critically analyze the unique journey of immigration for Rosalina, Maria de Jesus, and Rene. It argues that glorified images and dreams of what America could be like falsely creates a sense of hope. It focuses on the dual task of reviewing the process of assimilation based on each immigrant situation, and an examination of familial estrangement as
Elena Poniatowska escrita durante una epoca de cambio en Mexico. Antes de sus obras las mujeres mexicanas eran sometidos, docil, y pasivo. En la tiempo de sus obras las mujeres estaba tratando salir de los estereotipos de antes. Esta problema social tomo un afecto en Elena. Aunque ella no viene de un movimiento literatura directamente, ella escrita con el concepto de compremetido. En su narrative El Recado ella crea un mujer estereotipical que no puede controlar sus emociones. La titula es eso porque ella viene a ver su amante, pero el no esta, asi ella escribe las cosas que sentia. La perspectiva es de un personaje y ella nunca interacta con otros personajes. En facto la unica descripcion de un personaje otro de la protagonista es de su amante Martin. Habla de otros personajes, pero solamente de sus acciones. Porque ellas es la unica perspectiva que tenemos es sencillo a sentar compasion para una protagonista de quien nombre no aun sabemos. Ella da la descripcion de toda que vea, y mas importante todo que se sienta. Tambien tropos y figuras retoricas dan un tono significante al poema. Estos sentimientos de la portagonista y el tono emocional de la narrativa transporta una tema de una mujer estereotipical y debil quien quiere ser reconocido.
There are several theories to look into when discussing the morality of borders. I specifically look into Stephen Macedo’s chapter “The Moral Dilemma of U.S. Immigration Policy, open borders versus social justice?” in Debating Immigration and Joseph Carens article “Aliens and Citizens: The Case for Open Borders.” Using political theory back up his argument, Carens uses Rawlsian, the Nozickean, and the utilitarian to support and explain his claims that there is little justification for keeping oppressed people from other countries seeking a better life out of the United States. Macedo also uses similar liberal philosophy referencing Rawlsianism to support the opposing idea of a more restrictionist society, posing the question of cosmopolitanism
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By the late nineteenth century the economic lines in America between the upper and lower class were quickly widening because of the boom of urban industrial expansion. Moreover, during the 1800s, America witnessed an influx of immigrants coming from many parts of the world, they made tenement houses in New York’s lower East Side a common destination. One person witnessing the living conditions of these tenements was journalist Jacob A. Riis. For several years, Riis, with camera in hand, tooked a multitude of photographs that depicted the atrocious working and living conditions in the New York slums. Riss reported that the tenements were severely overcrowded, unsanitary, and a breeding ground for crime and disease. Riss also claimed that the “slum” landlords of these tenements exploited immigrants by charging them more rent than they could afford. As a result, every member of the family had to work—even young children. Subsequently, in 1890, Riis wrote a book entitled: How the Other Half Lives: Studies Among the Tenements of New York, which included his horrifying photographs and sketches, as means to expose to the middle class the chaotic environment of tenement living. Although Riss’s book exposes a myriad of social and economic problems regarding tenement housing, one of the more prominent ills his photographs and prose reveal is the harsh and distressing reality that immigrant families from the lower class must treat their children as a form of labor in order to survive. With this in mind, by describing and analyzing three of Riis’s photographs, I will demonstrate the validity of my argument which portrays the exploitation of child labor.
The American Dream, is what every immigrant looks for when coming to the United States. But it's not all it seems to be. There are consequences, stereotypes and pressure put on the children of these immigrants. 40% of children in immigrant families have at least one parent who is mexican born. As stated by Childtrends.org. This means 40 out of 100 children have pressure on them whether it's by their parents (because they are immigrants) or by society by placing stereotypes.
“Poverty and exploitation of women in Latin America can never be alleviated because they are rooted in machismo,” meaning that because of the way society was run in Latin American, women can’t advance from the ancient state of mind that they belong in the private sphere and should stay there, because only men are good enough to be out in the public sphere. The reason why society was run in this manner, was because of the machismo feeling engraved in the minds of men and, in some cases, women in society. Alicia, Carolina, and Nancy don’t really have any other choice, than try to survive on their own by doing acts that are not “approved” by the society they live in. Even now, because of their actions, we could even disagree with the way they decided to approach their situation, because even now a day, we could think that selling one’s body or being involved in “off the book”
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The saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” cannot be demonstrated more thoroughly than during The Great Depression, a time when there were not a lot of words to be said. The photograph of the “Migrant Mother,” taken in this time period, The Great Depression, has inspired me want to dig deeper into Dorothea Lange’s experience during that time period. When I first saw the photograph of the “Migrant Mother,” I could not get the image out of my head because it tugged at my heart and it is something I have wanted to learn more about since we discussed Dorothea Lange in class.
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Life of the Immigrants in My Antonia William Cather provided a great amount of information about the "old wild west" and the expansion of the United States. In My Antonia, Jim Burden tells a story of his childhood, the people in his life, and the struggles he and his surroundings faced during this time. At age ten, Jim Burden was sent by his relatives to be raised by his grandparents in the Nebraska prairie after his parents died. When he arrived at his new home, he was introduced to a Bohemian family that had just immigrated to America: the Shimerdas. Jim and Antonia, the Shimerda's daughter, quickly became friends.