Blog Post #2

Zitlali Montiel Martinez, Writer

Article #1:

http://www.ibtimes.com/illegal-immigration-2015-40-mexican-migrants-abused-separated-deportation-us-border-2108256

 

Although my book doesn’t specifically talk about living conditions in the U.S. vs in Mexico, a big step before successfully settling down on this side of the border is making it without getting caught. Now more than ever before, security is getting stricter because technology is getting better. This makes it harder for Mexican immigrants to cross the border over to the States. Many Mexicans are caught and held in detention centers while they await to be deported back to Mexico. This is where my article comes in. Lately, researchers have found that more than 40% of detained immigrants have admitted that their human rights were violated. Examples include “cold and overcrowded holding cells, filthy conditions, poor food quality, a lack of access to medical care and scarcity of personal hygiene items.” Not only that, but families have reported being separated from one another. Many of these immigrants come to these facilities more than once, after repeatedly trying to cross over the border. In my book, Reyna Grande, her siblings and their father tried to cross the border, and successfully made it on their third time. Reyna recounts of a time when she walked away from the group to go relieve herself and ends up next to a dead man. Later on, she tells her audience the amount of people that die annually trying to come over to the United States.

 

Article Two:

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/trump-anti-immigration-talk-inspires-pro-mexican-anthem-article-1.2357681

 

First off I feel like it’s necessary to say that everyone is entitled to their own opinions and they should always be respected, but that also doesn’t mean that people have to agree with one another. Now, this article talks about musicians teaming up to write a song called “We’re All Mexicans” in order to combat the negative feelings said by Donald Trump. In the article, “Everyone has their opinion, and he can have whatever opinion he wants, as long as he doesn’t humiliate my people.” After reading more than half of my book I learned a lot about Reyna Grande and her viewpoints. Despite being in the United States for over a year and going to middle school, many kids made fun of her because of her accent, calling her inappropriate names such as “wetback”. She grew up humiliated by her peers and neighbors, like many immigrants who also get made fun of for different reasons. It’s sad to see how society treats people who are trying to move on with their lives and create a better environment for themselves and their children. Eventually, Reyna and her siblings are able to improve their English skills and start to blend in a little more with the rest of their peers.