In The Distance Between Us, Reyna, her father, and her siblings are moved across the border by a coyote. Coyote is the name given to smugglers that move people from Mexico into the United States. When she describes her attempts at crossing the border, Reyna said, "I am grateful now that back then I was too young to fully grasp the danger we were in. I am glad I did not know of the thousands of immigrants who had dies before crossing and who have been dying ever since." (Grande, 154) In a video on CNN's website, I saw an example of how trying to get across the border with the help of coyotes can lead to a horrible death.
There was a train car full of people trying to make it across the border. They had been put there by coyotes, and they were supposed to stay in the train car until they reached the border, then bail out. Common practice for coyotes that take advantage of trains is to have "spotters" stay on the roof of the train s the people being smuggled know when to get out. But with this particular train, that was not the case. At least, not at the end of the ordeal. At a point in its journey, the train was stopped and searched by border patrol. It was at that point that the coyotes are presumed to have fled the train, to prevent getting caught for smuggling people across the border. The train was searched, and in the video it was even said that an officer remembered finding the people being smuggled, but they remained on the train anyway as it continued to move. The only problem was there were no more coyotes to let them know when to get out. So they rode in the train. They rode and rode and rode. Over time, the effects of being in a small, sealed space, in a hot environment started taking effect, and everyone in the train car wound up dead. While Reyna's experience crossing the border wasn't exactly a pleasant ordeal, she at least survived the trip.
This is a very sad occurrence, and while the victims of the accident, or crime, depending on who you're talking to technically were engaged in an illegal act, it makes me realize how little the smugglers that are helping people get across the border care about their "cargo," and it makes me realize just how dangerous it can be, even if the people crossing are in a seemingly safe situation, like riding in a train. I don't believe that a lot of people are aware of just how hard people work to get across the border, how they are risking their lives for a shot at having a better life here. It also makes me want even more for it to become easier for people to get here legally, because when people are dying because they want to get to the United States, it is clear that something needs to be done.
VIDEO
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
The right to education.
In a video from PBS, the story of the Lopez family in Texas, a family who came the U.S. in a way very similar to Reyna Grande's family did in The Distance Between Us. Their father came here first, and was followed by their mother and the four children that the video centers on. They came here during the 1970s, years before Reyna did. Because of that, they faced a problem that the Grandes didn't. At the time, there was a law in Texas, which was the state that they moved to, that required parents to prove that their family was there legally for their children to go to public school. Instead of trying to get their kids enrolled, the family took a different route, one that would make a large impact. They joined a class-action lawsuit against the local school board, protesting the state law.
After a while, the case went to the supreme court. The case was released as Plyler v. Doe, and the ruling was that the law in Texas that would have prevented countless children from receiving an education was unconstitutional. Since then, undocumented children have been allowed a public education here. While it was never a law in anywhere but Texas, if children had continued to be denied the right to an education, it is possible that other states would have passed similar laws, and in the amount of time between when the Lopez's arrival, when the law was in place, and the Grande's arrival, the law could have been in place in California, the state in which the Grande's were living.
The argument of whether or not undocumented immigrants deserve to receive a public education is still one going on today, which was proved to me by looking at the comment section on an article on Fox News' website, which consisted mainly of people claiming that public education should not be given to illegal immigrants. As someone who supports the DREAM act, I believe that everyone here deserves an education. This video proves that having an education really does make a difference, as does Reyna's story in The Distance Between Us. In the Plyler v. Doe case it was determined that not allowing undocumented children to receive an education presented a risk to society, and I completely agree. Not allowing these children to receive the education that they need to become productive members of society is the exact opposite of what needed, and still needs to be done. In Alabama, a law that is the same as the one in Texas has been passed, and there are some in the state that aim to challenge the Supreme Court decision to allow anyone to receive an education. In my opinion, this is taking a step backwards in terms of progress that has been made concerning immigration. Given the amount of children that begin as undocumented citizens but, because they receive an education, are able to become legal residents of the United States and bring a lot to our economy and the well being of the country in general, I'm surprised anyone is even considering passing laws like this. By denying them an education, people are ensuring that undocumented children will become what they don't want them to be. Education is the truly the key to resolving our current problems with illegal people in this country.
VIDEO
MORE INFO ON PLYLER V. DOE
After a while, the case went to the supreme court. The case was released as Plyler v. Doe, and the ruling was that the law in Texas that would have prevented countless children from receiving an education was unconstitutional. Since then, undocumented children have been allowed a public education here. While it was never a law in anywhere but Texas, if children had continued to be denied the right to an education, it is possible that other states would have passed similar laws, and in the amount of time between when the Lopez's arrival, when the law was in place, and the Grande's arrival, the law could have been in place in California, the state in which the Grande's were living.
The argument of whether or not undocumented immigrants deserve to receive a public education is still one going on today, which was proved to me by looking at the comment section on an article on Fox News' website, which consisted mainly of people claiming that public education should not be given to illegal immigrants. As someone who supports the DREAM act, I believe that everyone here deserves an education. This video proves that having an education really does make a difference, as does Reyna's story in The Distance Between Us. In the Plyler v. Doe case it was determined that not allowing undocumented children to receive an education presented a risk to society, and I completely agree. Not allowing these children to receive the education that they need to become productive members of society is the exact opposite of what needed, and still needs to be done. In Alabama, a law that is the same as the one in Texas has been passed, and there are some in the state that aim to challenge the Supreme Court decision to allow anyone to receive an education. In my opinion, this is taking a step backwards in terms of progress that has been made concerning immigration. Given the amount of children that begin as undocumented citizens but, because they receive an education, are able to become legal residents of the United States and bring a lot to our economy and the well being of the country in general, I'm surprised anyone is even considering passing laws like this. By denying them an education, people are ensuring that undocumented children will become what they don't want them to be. Education is the truly the key to resolving our current problems with illegal people in this country.
VIDEO
MORE INFO ON PLYLER V. DOE
Illegals or Refugees?
The debate on whether or not the people that come here seeking asylum are right in doing so has been going on since it first started happening. There are many who believe doing the humanitarian thing is the right thing to do. There are others who believe that we don't have the resources to take care of other countries fugitives. In a video by Keith Hughes (A social studies teacher) the facts about political asylum were stated, and I can say with confidence that I believe we need to be more strict about who we grant asylum to. In the video, it is said that people from Mexico (and Canada) will be turned around and sent home, no trial, no asylum, nothing like that. People from anywhere else in the world, however, can be granted asylum or get a trial. This I don't understand.
Many of the people coming here from Mexico are coming for the same reasons as people from other countries. Reyna Grande came here to escape poverty, which is a common reason for people coming here from Central American countries. If we're going to grant random people (I should be saying children) asylum in our country, I don't see why we should exclude Mexico. There are worse conditions in some other countries, like El Salvador, where children leave to escape gang violence, but that doesn't mean there isn't violence and bad conditions in Mexico as well. In my last post on this blog, I talked about the fact that in the Mexican state Tamaulipas there has been a large increase in gang violence in recent years. So the conditions in at least that region of Mexico are close to those in Central American countries.
Speaking of gang violence, another problem that is created by just allowing people from Central American countries is the gangs are taking advantage of it. Some gangs in Central America are sending up younger members, someone who is fifteen or sixteen, but looks young, to ask for asylum, get across the border, and start up a drug operation. Smugglers in the Central American countries are making money by making the offer to concerned parents to take their children up to the border, teach them to ask for asylum in English, and send them across the river into this country.
The thing I am most upset about with this situation is the fact that we are turning away Mexican children that try to get in, and that have been trying to get in over and over again, but willing accept any child from another country. If we are going to allow people to have asylum here, we should allow everyone to be able to take asylum here, because there isn't a gigantic difference between Mexico and Central America, or it doesn't seem like it anyway.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Many of the people coming here from Mexico are coming for the same reasons as people from other countries. Reyna Grande came here to escape poverty, which is a common reason for people coming here from Central American countries. If we're going to grant random people (I should be saying children) asylum in our country, I don't see why we should exclude Mexico. There are worse conditions in some other countries, like El Salvador, where children leave to escape gang violence, but that doesn't mean there isn't violence and bad conditions in Mexico as well. In my last post on this blog, I talked about the fact that in the Mexican state Tamaulipas there has been a large increase in gang violence in recent years. So the conditions in at least that region of Mexico are close to those in Central American countries.
Speaking of gang violence, another problem that is created by just allowing people from Central American countries is the gangs are taking advantage of it. Some gangs in Central America are sending up younger members, someone who is fifteen or sixteen, but looks young, to ask for asylum, get across the border, and start up a drug operation. Smugglers in the Central American countries are making money by making the offer to concerned parents to take their children up to the border, teach them to ask for asylum in English, and send them across the river into this country.
The thing I am most upset about with this situation is the fact that we are turning away Mexican children that try to get in, and that have been trying to get in over and over again, but willing accept any child from another country. If we are going to allow people to have asylum here, we should allow everyone to be able to take asylum here, because there isn't a gigantic difference between Mexico and Central America, or it doesn't seem like it anyway.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Thursday, August 7, 2014
If at first you don't succeed...
In The Distance Between Us, Reyna, Carlos, Mago, and their father had to make three attempts to get across the border. In the book, it was said that "After getting sent back twice, Papi said, "This is the last time, mijos." It seems that the Grande family wasn't willing to go as far as other people when it comes to crossing the border. In a recent study done by CNN, 24% of Mexican children who were caught trying to cross the border between last October and May said that it was their first time trying to cross. That was out of 11,000 children that had tried to cross and got caught. I have very mixed feelings about this.
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After reading The Distance Between Us, I have a lot more sympathy for people crossing the border illegally. I know what their situation is like in Mexico, so I can understand them wanting to come here. But I had no idea they wanted to come that badly. In the article, it was said that some children tried to cross up to six times. To be willing to go through everything that they did, only to be caught, and to do that six times being met only with failure, has to take some serious resolve.
Many of the children that are trying to cross the border are coming from border states in Mexico, states like Tamaulipas. Tamaulipas has had a rise in violence in recent years, due to two rival gangs fighting for control over territory. Because of this, it is understandable that children, or parents, would want to get out of the area to avoid being caught in the crossfire of the fights between the gangs. Increased violence has also become a problem in Michoacán, another Mexican state where vigilantes started taking up arms against drug cartels.
But gang violence isn't the only problem that is faced in Mexico. In The Distance Between Us, Reyna wanted to get out of Mexico for several reasons. One was the poverty. In Mexico, Reyna didn't live in the U.S. standard of a house at any point. Her stomach was filled with worms, and her primary source of "medical" aid was her grandmother, who was a healer, not a doctor. She did go to school, which is one of the few good things they had there. A basic education.
Thinking about the living conditions that I read about in The Distance Between Us and the gang violence that is clearly a large problem in Mexico, I don't blame kids for wanting to come here. And I believe that they would be willing to try to get across over and over again to escape the lives that they are leading, lives filled with poverty and violence. In the article it was said that the majority of the children were coming from border states, so I would assume that it isn't too hard for them to just keep trying to get across until they are successful.
The last thing I'm going to talk about in this post is linked to my next post. In Tamaulipas, there is a lot of gang violence. That same can be said for countries like El Salvador in Central America. But there is one key difference. Children that are trying to get in from Mexico are immediately turned around and sent back. Children coming from any other country in the world get to stay, or at least get a trial, just by claiming to bve refugees. Just some food for thought.
Many of the children that are trying to cross the border are coming from border states in Mexico, states like Tamaulipas. Tamaulipas has had a rise in violence in recent years, due to two rival gangs fighting for control over territory. Because of this, it is understandable that children, or parents, would want to get out of the area to avoid being caught in the crossfire of the fights between the gangs. Increased violence has also become a problem in Michoacán, another Mexican state where vigilantes started taking up arms against drug cartels.
But gang violence isn't the only problem that is faced in Mexico. In The Distance Between Us, Reyna wanted to get out of Mexico for several reasons. One was the poverty. In Mexico, Reyna didn't live in the U.S. standard of a house at any point. Her stomach was filled with worms, and her primary source of "medical" aid was her grandmother, who was a healer, not a doctor. She did go to school, which is one of the few good things they had there. A basic education.
Thinking about the living conditions that I read about in The Distance Between Us and the gang violence that is clearly a large problem in Mexico, I don't blame kids for wanting to come here. And I believe that they would be willing to try to get across over and over again to escape the lives that they are leading, lives filled with poverty and violence. In the article it was said that the majority of the children were coming from border states, so I would assume that it isn't too hard for them to just keep trying to get across until they are successful.
The last thing I'm going to talk about in this post is linked to my next post. In Tamaulipas, there is a lot of gang violence. That same can be said for countries like El Salvador in Central America. But there is one key difference. Children that are trying to get in from Mexico are immediately turned around and sent back. Children coming from any other country in the world get to stay, or at least get a trial, just by claiming to bve refugees. Just some food for thought.
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
DREAM on.
In an article on the Immigration Policy website, I learned about the DREAM act. The DREAM act is a congress proposal that would allow undocumented children who had been in the United States for at least five years and graduated high school to become citizens. It would allow for these children and young adults to receive legal status in our country, and they would be able to go to college, get a job, or join the military. If, after six years they had a bachelor's degree, or served in the military for at least two years, they would be granted full legal status. Reading that, you probably are thinking,
"Wow, that would probably solve a lot of the issues we have with immigration!"
The problem with the DREAM act is that it hasn't actually been passed. The reason for this is whenever Republican senators, or Republicans in general, support being nice for granting amnesty to undocumented people, all the other Republicans aren't exactly thrilled with them, so they change their position on the matter to avoid being disliked by their political party.
There are a LOT of benefits that could come from passing the DREAM act. Well, not a lot, but the few reasons that there are are pretty important. The DREAM act would allow legalized immigrants to invest in our economy. It would save tax payers money by educating the masses of immigrants so they can have a life in which they pay higher taxes and use less government expenses, so tax payers don't have to pay as much for the expenses they're using. And it could lower the amount of people that drop out of high school. That's always a good thing.
In the book The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande, it becomes apparent within the first few pages that she supports the DREAM act. The book is dedicated to "all DREAMers." DREAMers. It's in caps like that in the book. DREAMers. DREAM act. You get what I'm saying. I can see why she would dedicate her book to young undocumented people in the United States, because she was one. Gaining her legal status would have been so much easier for Reyna if the DREAM act had been in effect when she was growing up here. She had to grow up knowing that she might never become legal, and everything she was going through might have been for nothing. If the DREAM act were in effect, she would have grown up knowing that she could graduate high school, gain temporary legal status, and in six years she would be fully legal. While Reyna did go to college without the DREAM act, I think it would have been nice to have that guarantee.
I really do want to see the DREAM act passed in my lifetime. I usually frown upon people entering the country illegally, but I can't blame the kids that they bring along for anything. Those children should be given the opportunity to succeed. If they were raised here, work hard in school, do everything that most natural born citizens do during their early life, then they should have the right to go to college and get a good job. There are many, many children/young adults that come here from other countries and are taking up illegal residence here that work harder than the people that were born here. And if you ask me, hard work should be rewarded no matter who it is that's doing it.
LINK TO ORIGINAL ARTICLE
"Wow, that would probably solve a lot of the issues we have with immigration!"
The problem with the DREAM act is that it hasn't actually been passed. The reason for this is whenever Republican senators, or Republicans in general, support being nice for granting amnesty to undocumented people, all the other Republicans aren't exactly thrilled with them, so they change their position on the matter to avoid being disliked by their political party.
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| Image Source |
In the book The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande, it becomes apparent within the first few pages that she supports the DREAM act. The book is dedicated to "all DREAMers." DREAMers. It's in caps like that in the book. DREAMers. DREAM act. You get what I'm saying. I can see why she would dedicate her book to young undocumented people in the United States, because she was one. Gaining her legal status would have been so much easier for Reyna if the DREAM act had been in effect when she was growing up here. She had to grow up knowing that she might never become legal, and everything she was going through might have been for nothing. If the DREAM act were in effect, she would have grown up knowing that she could graduate high school, gain temporary legal status, and in six years she would be fully legal. While Reyna did go to college without the DREAM act, I think it would have been nice to have that guarantee.
I really do want to see the DREAM act passed in my lifetime. I usually frown upon people entering the country illegally, but I can't blame the kids that they bring along for anything. Those children should be given the opportunity to succeed. If they were raised here, work hard in school, do everything that most natural born citizens do during their early life, then they should have the right to go to college and get a good job. There are many, many children/young adults that come here from other countries and are taking up illegal residence here that work harder than the people that were born here. And if you ask me, hard work should be rewarded no matter who it is that's doing it.
LINK TO ORIGINAL ARTICLE
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