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Insight to a world other than our own.

As we tune into our local news station, it’s hard to ignore one of our country’s hottest topic, Immigration. Many Americans may agree that something must be done in order to end the potential overflow of migrants into the U.S, but at what cost? Can we justify the loss of lives in an attempt to resolve this issue? And what can be done in their home country to help improve living conditions in order to prevent emigration? In our class’s recent trip to Nogales, Arizona, we search these issues to try to find answers to these questions.

We departed early morning on to our first destination to Tucson, Arizona were we would meet with a member of Border links ( an organization that conducts travel seminars focusing on the issues of Mexican border communities). After a brief introduction about the organization, we made our way to Nogales, Arizona. In advance, we were provided with a packet of several articles that would aid in our search for answers. In one of our reading, Maria Guadalupe Torres (We are not machines: Corporations that bring jobs must bring justice too) explains her struggle to survive during her early years working in a Maquiladora. She refers to the long work days, the lack of protective gear, the low wages and the cost of living on her earned income. This was a great insight since we would visit one of the Maquiladoras in Nogales. After we had the opportunity to question one of the factory’s representatives on issues and concerns, I couldn’t help but wonder if many of the responses we received could have been fabricated or perhaps our host was among the last of the more respectable Maquiladoras . Prior to our visit, we have heard many negative and inhumane stories of theses types of factories but as she addressed our questions, the representative painted a picture of a fair and considerate company that pays above minimum wage and assured that it was above the cost of living. Our group then visited a local grocery chain to engage in an activity that would reveal what the basic necessities would cost a consumer earning the average wage employed by a Maquiladora. In contrast to what the representative stated, our group found that it would be very complicated to live with those earnings.

Many migrants come to the U.S in search of job opportunities since the wages and job market in their native countries are below the cost of living. In their journey to get to the U.S they may be subject to long walks in the desert heat and may encounter many obstacles that can be both dangerous and deadly. Jose Palafox in Arizona Ranchers Hunt Mexicans, brings awareness to the deaths and abuse that many migrants that have been apprehended during there attempt to migrant to the U.S have experienced. He mentions several anti-immigration groups but mainly focuses on Roger and Don Barnett. These men are known as the Barnett brothers and through out the years they have actively protested immigration by rounding up volunteers and conducting citizen arrests on illegal immigrants. Some of the group’s methods are criticized as being inhumane but the Barnett Brothers insist they are protecting the property of ranchers. This constant conflict definitely places the brothers under the magnifying glass, but what about the rights of the unfortunate immigrants that encounter these anti-immigration groups or immigration officials?

Early into our trip we met with a family of 6 that had recently been deported back to Mexico. They had just attended a seminar at Grupo Beta (an organization that provides services to migrants) and were trying to figure out what they would do now that they were thousands of miles away from home. A young teenage girl described her family’s recent experience and shared her concerned for a friend that became ill during their journey and was separated from the group. The family also mentioned that they had been abandoned in the desert by the person that promised to guide them to the U.S. As they told their story, I was reminded of my family and their story became one I knew all too well. I couldn’t help but feel the sadness and devastation these people where feeling. Being the first born in the U.S in my family, I’ve experienced first hand the dramatic difference between Mexico and the U.S. My mother too, came to the U.S illegally and left her life in Mexico behind. I know of her struggle to get here and to create a new life in a promising country. The heartbreaking reality is that as a result, I’m torn apart from my sibling that remains in Mexico. She lives a hard life there but nevertheless has no intentions of migrating to the U.S yet every time I see her I can’t help but wonder if I was spared the life she lives by being born in the U.S.