Interview Analysis & Conclusion
April Salazar
Analysis:
It seems to me that Alex Meza reasons for coming to this country are similar to many other immigrants. Most immigrants came to this country for economic reasons because some how their native country has failed to provide stable and well paid jobs. For example, Alex Meza came to this country for economic reasons. He recalls that one day the family farm did not produce enough money to support the family. He also recalls that many of his school class mates left school to find jobs in American factories. This remaindered me about NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement. “NAFTA was promoted as a "free trade" agreement among the nations of Canada, Mexico, and the United States; it has much more to do with economic integration and eventual political merger than it does with free trade. Consider: The mammoth NAFTA document was 1,700 pages of government intervention. The treaty itself was "only" 741 pages, but there were an additional 348 pages of annexes and 619 pages of footnotes and amplifications. Free trade and 1,700 pages of bureaucratese amount to a contradiction” (The Dangers of NAFTA,Santayana). NAFTA brought negative effects to Mexico; effects that affected the economic status of Alex Meza’s family, effects that forced many Mexican citizen to immigrate to the United States (Why Migration, Sassen).
Alex Meza also mentions that he wants to go back to his country because he feels that there are a lot of negative feelings toward immigrants, especially toward immigrants from Mexico. In reality he is correct. There is a lot of resentment toward immigrants in the United States. This resentment is seen every where in the Media. For example, according to Leo Chavez, since 1965 there have been more magazine covers that express negative feelings about Mexican immigration then any other race. People that see immigration as an invasion think that all immigrants risk their life and leave their love ones by choice. Other individuals believe that Mexicans come to this country and that they don’t try to assimilate and learn the language because they probably have intension of taking over this country.
Alex Meza expresses that he does not want to stay in this country for ever. He adds that he came here for the purpose of saving money to go back to his country to open his own business. Alex also mentions that he learned the language in three years. Alex Meza can be described as a transmationalism immigrant. Alex keeps in touch with his family and sends them money whenever he can. Transnationalism is a term used to describe recent immigrants. New immigrants that have build social fields that link their native country and their country of settlement. They develop and maintain multiple relations, such as family and economic (Transnationalism, Schiller, Basch, SZanton).
People that see immigration as an invasion think that all immigrants risk their life and leave their love ones by choice. They don’t acknowledge that because of the actions of the US in their countries emigrants are forced to immigrate to this country. For example, NAFTA forced many farmers and small business owners to immigrate to the US (Sassen). Anti-immigration feelings are stronger where immigrants reside, for example, the Hmong in Wisconsin. Hmong families began arriving to Wisconsin as refugees after the US lost the Vietnam War (New Pioneers in the Heartland, Koltyk, 2-4). Americans are responsible for the sudden immigrant wave of the Hmong. In 1960s the US army recruited Hmong to form a special force of guerrilla fighters and in return they promise Hmong protection and a safe haven in the US if they lost the war. They came to the US escaping persecution after the United States abruptly terminated their support to General Vang Pao and the secret army (Koltyk, 2-4). Now most of the live in Wisconsin were they experience prejudice by Americans.
Many people think that the only state that has issue about immigration is the United States. When in reality it happens in most places where two countries shared borders. For example, the same issues are happening between Nador, Morocco and European countries (In & out of Morocco, Mcmurray). According to Mcmuray research, tens of thousands Moroccan emigrants leave Morocco to European countries for economic purposes. In his research he mentions that million of Moroccans left their families and homes in Morocco to earn better wages in Europeans countries. He also adds that this created anti-immigrant feeling in Europe.
Conclusion:
The United States is known for being a country formed by immigrants and I might never change. Alex Mesa like many other immigrants leave their country to immigrate to the United States because they don not have much to lose. They prefer to risks their live than died of hunger. They immigrate to other countries searching for a better life, but most important there are searching for a way to earn money to support them selves and their families back in their native country. They come here to work and that has brought benefits to our economy. They pay taxes and because they are here illegally they don’t file for tax returns, money that is never claimed and that the states and federal government gladly accept. In conclusion, most emigrants immigrate to this country searching for a better life. They immigrate to a country where they are not welcome a country that is not willing to admit that immigrants are an important ingredient for what it could be a great recipe, a great country.