My fifth and final artifact on immigration is from another news article. In "Voters Know What We Should Do On Immigration," the political aspects of immigration are discussed. President Barack Obama wishes to defer deporting young undocumented immigrants, which some people say is the wrong idea. Some want the immigration problems solved quickly, while others want there to be an amnesty, where illegal immigrants are allowed a way to obtain citizenship, or at least stay in the country.
This doesn't really have any effect on my life, but personally I believe that there should be a better way of illegal immigrants to obtain citizenship. Or at least an easier way for them to get into the country legally. As discussed in my first artifact log, there are many reasons for immigration. Some of them include education, financial security, and overall prospects of a better future. Without an easy way to legally migrate into the United States, it's almost like we are denying them those chances.
This relates to The Distance Between Us because Reyna and her family illegally migrate into the United States. They could've been deported, so they had to stay low. Eventually, when a chance for amnesty came up, they took it. The amnesty allowed them to live normal lives, and finally stop hiding in the shadows. As Natalio says in The Distance Between Us, "Once I'm a legal resident, and I speak better English, things are going to change." The amnesty changed their lives, allowing them whole new opportunities, without the fear of being deported. Mago, Carlos, and Reyna were able to grow up living great lives, like people born in the United States. If them being granted amnesty helped them achieve all that, perhaps it's a good idea to grant amnesty for more illegal immigrants.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Artifact Four
My fourth artifact is a news article on children that were abandoned during immigration. The article, "Mexico finds 370 abandoned immigrant children," focuses on children that were found in Mexico once they were abandoned by their "guides." Many times, parents will migrate to America, a lot of the time illegally, while leaving behind their children. Once they establish themselves, they will sometimes send money back to where they came from, paying for smugglers to bring their children to them. These 370 children were abandoned by their smugglers, after the smugglers were paid thousands of dollars. Many of them had injuries, dehydration, and/or fatigue.
This strikes a chord with me, because, as stated in my first artifact log, I can't really imagine going without my parents for a long time, especially if I didn't live the life I have now. These children are left, hopefully with other family members, without seeing them for years, which I can just think of as extremely sad. Not to mention that when they finally get to rejoin their parents, their supposed "guide" leaves them to fend for themselves, so they never actually reach their parents.
This relates to The Distance Between Us because Reyna and her siblings were left fatherless for a lot of their early years. Then, their mother left them as well. Luckily they got to stay with their grandmother, but sadly she didn't treat them very well. The difference is that Juana, Reyna's mother, returned to them after a few years, so they weren't parentless for an extremely long time. Then, when they finally got to go to the United States, they went with their father, who came back for them personally. Reyna and her sibling luckily weren't abandoned by a stranger, and instead got to go through illegally immigrating with their father. The fact that some children were abandoned before they even got to see their parents is horrible, and hopefully they were able to eventually return to their parents after what they went through.
This strikes a chord with me, because, as stated in my first artifact log, I can't really imagine going without my parents for a long time, especially if I didn't live the life I have now. These children are left, hopefully with other family members, without seeing them for years, which I can just think of as extremely sad. Not to mention that when they finally get to rejoin their parents, their supposed "guide" leaves them to fend for themselves, so they never actually reach their parents.
This relates to The Distance Between Us because Reyna and her siblings were left fatherless for a lot of their early years. Then, their mother left them as well. Luckily they got to stay with their grandmother, but sadly she didn't treat them very well. The difference is that Juana, Reyna's mother, returned to them after a few years, so they weren't parentless for an extremely long time. Then, when they finally got to go to the United States, they went with their father, who came back for them personally. Reyna and her sibling luckily weren't abandoned by a stranger, and instead got to go through illegally immigrating with their father. The fact that some children were abandoned before they even got to see their parents is horrible, and hopefully they were able to eventually return to their parents after what they went through.
Artifact Three
My third artifact of immigration comes from another news report. Named "LAUSD Gets Influx of Undocumented Children," it discusses the large amounts of children that have migrated to the Los Angeles Unified School District undocumented. Though the amount of new students threatens to overcome the budget of the district, the district is legally required to educate all students, even if they are undocumented. However, the superintendent states that even if they weren't required to accept the undocumented children, they still would, never denying a possible student.
This connects to myself and other people around me because I know that without education, it's hard to live a good life. We know that schooling, even if it's boring to go through, is what helps us succeed in the future. It's how we get a job, a house, a car, a phone, any entertainment or hobbies, and a lot of other things. So even the remote possibility of denying someone those possibilities of good futures is really hard for me to believe.
This reminds me of The Distance Between Us for pretty obvious reasons. In the book, Reyna and her siblings migrate over the border with their father, and one of the main reasons for that is so that they can receive a good education. In fact, they even migrate to Los Angeles, where the news report takes place. Reyna's father, Natalio, is adamant about the fact that his children came with him to America to get a good education, and he doesn't want to see them waste this chance. He wants to see them succeed, and have the futures that he wasn't able to have. This also reminds me of my experiences and goals because I have gone through education my whole life. My goals are to succeed in school, and get an education that allows me to do what I want to do in the future. Education is one of the fundamental reasons for immigration, so the fact that the LA school district accepts students whether they are documented or not is a great thing. They are allowing these kids to have the possibilities that their parents wanted for them.
This connects to myself and other people around me because I know that without education, it's hard to live a good life. We know that schooling, even if it's boring to go through, is what helps us succeed in the future. It's how we get a job, a house, a car, a phone, any entertainment or hobbies, and a lot of other things. So even the remote possibility of denying someone those possibilities of good futures is really hard for me to believe.
This reminds me of The Distance Between Us for pretty obvious reasons. In the book, Reyna and her siblings migrate over the border with their father, and one of the main reasons for that is so that they can receive a good education. In fact, they even migrate to Los Angeles, where the news report takes place. Reyna's father, Natalio, is adamant about the fact that his children came with him to America to get a good education, and he doesn't want to see them waste this chance. He wants to see them succeed, and have the futures that he wasn't able to have. This also reminds me of my experiences and goals because I have gone through education my whole life. My goals are to succeed in school, and get an education that allows me to do what I want to do in the future. Education is one of the fundamental reasons for immigration, so the fact that the LA school district accepts students whether they are documented or not is a great thing. They are allowing these kids to have the possibilities that their parents wanted for them.
Artifact Two
My second artifact on immigration comes from a BBC news report. Called "Broken lives of immigrants deported from US to Mexico," the report discusses the deportation of illegal immigrants from America. By March 20, 2014, almost 2 million people were deported just in the time that Barack Obama was president.
Illegal immigration is another part of immigration that has to be looked at. It is, in fact, what Reyna and her siblings were doing when they left Mexico with their father. Illegal immigration, of course, is simply when people immigrate somewhere without the proper documentation, such as sneaking across the border. That is the main reason for the existence of border patrol. Personally, as with the first artifact, I have no connections between this and my past experiences or goals.
Illegal immigration simply helps me understand, even more so than the legal counterpart, that immigration can be a huge impact on someone's life. The reasons for legal immigration can be the same as the reasons for illegal immigration, but in a way, illegal immigration has a greater impact on the lives of the individuals. This is because the fact that they do have to do it illegally might mean that the life they are running from is even worse than the life legal immigrants leave behind. That, to me, is fairly hard to understand. I have never really felt the want to migrate in the first place, but wanting or needing it enough to do it illegally would just absolutely never cross my mind. In that sense, it makes me feel like whoever migrates illegally must live a very harsh life, which I, once again, can't really understand.
Back to The Distance Between Us, Reyna and her family migrated to the United States illegally. They had to be very careful not to be seen, hiding in the trees or under bushes whenever they saw someone. After getting sent back twice, like some of the deportations in the news report, they finally got across, having to hide in a small cave from a helicopter on the way. Once they got across, they had to hide in the back of a car, laying down out of sight.
Most of the time, when I think about illegal immigrants I simply think of them as criminals, which just comes to mind when thinking about illegality. I think of people running across the border or jumping the fence, smuggling drugs when they go, which is a big stereotype. Before really thinking about it, reading this book, and watching this video, I guess it never occurred to me much that a lot of illegal immigrants are just people trying to get better opportunities for their future. In the end, a lot of them aren't much different than legal immigrants, migrating for the same reasons.
Illegal immigration is another part of immigration that has to be looked at. It is, in fact, what Reyna and her siblings were doing when they left Mexico with their father. Illegal immigration, of course, is simply when people immigrate somewhere without the proper documentation, such as sneaking across the border. That is the main reason for the existence of border patrol. Personally, as with the first artifact, I have no connections between this and my past experiences or goals.
Illegal immigration simply helps me understand, even more so than the legal counterpart, that immigration can be a huge impact on someone's life. The reasons for legal immigration can be the same as the reasons for illegal immigration, but in a way, illegal immigration has a greater impact on the lives of the individuals. This is because the fact that they do have to do it illegally might mean that the life they are running from is even worse than the life legal immigrants leave behind. That, to me, is fairly hard to understand. I have never really felt the want to migrate in the first place, but wanting or needing it enough to do it illegally would just absolutely never cross my mind. In that sense, it makes me feel like whoever migrates illegally must live a very harsh life, which I, once again, can't really understand.
Back to The Distance Between Us, Reyna and her family migrated to the United States illegally. They had to be very careful not to be seen, hiding in the trees or under bushes whenever they saw someone. After getting sent back twice, like some of the deportations in the news report, they finally got across, having to hide in a small cave from a helicopter on the way. Once they got across, they had to hide in the back of a car, laying down out of sight.
Most of the time, when I think about illegal immigrants I simply think of them as criminals, which just comes to mind when thinking about illegality. I think of people running across the border or jumping the fence, smuggling drugs when they go, which is a big stereotype. Before really thinking about it, reading this book, and watching this video, I guess it never occurred to me much that a lot of illegal immigrants are just people trying to get better opportunities for their future. In the end, a lot of them aren't much different than legal immigrants, migrating for the same reasons.
Monday, August 18, 2014
Artifact One
My first artifact for the Honors English 10 summer assignment comes from an online newspaper-type website, immigration.net.in. In this article, called "Top Seven Reasons Why People Immigrate," the main reasons that people immigrate are discussed.
The reasons are as follows: Financially Secured Future, High Standard of Living, Education, Start of a Series, Political Reasons, Needs of Different Personalities, and Soul Mate.
Financially secured future is what it sounds like, people immigrate so that they can have a better chance of having a "financially secured future" in a more economically powerful and stable country, and less chance of falling into poverty or homelessness, which might be common in their homeland.
A high standard of living is also pretty self-explanatory. Some countries that don't have public services such as running water, a working sewage system, or health care may see their citizens immigrate to countries that do have those public services. Many times parents are immigrating so that their children won't have to go through what the parents went through as children, so that the children can live happier, healthier lives.
Education is simply immigrating in order to attain a higher level of education. This can be an adult that migrates so that they can go to a better college or university, or parents migrating so that their children can have access to the better school systems and have better prospects of having a financially adequate life themselves.
Start of a series is similar to chain migration. Immigration.net.in does a great job of explaining this, simply put, "The first person immigrates and sends “Happily Settled” information to his loved ones living in the native country. And then what… others also immigrate to the same country (or probably a better one) to enhance their future prospects." Paraphrased, one person migrates to another country, sends word back that they were successful, and others like them migrate to join the original immigrant, seeking the same prosperity.
Political reasons are some of the most important reasons. This is based on a push factor of political unrest, and a pull factor of political stability. The immigrant sees their country having political problems and thinks that it might lead to rebellion, war, ethnic cleansing, etc.. They know that there are other countries that have political stability, and migrates to that country in order to escape the political conflict, possibly as a refugee or asylum seeker.
Needs of different personalities states that some people are extroverts, better at putting themselves out there and making friends, so they migrate alone. Other introverts, who are better with the friends and family they have, will tend to migrate with their friends and family, rather than by themselves.
Soul mate says that people migrate simply because they find the idea of falling in love with a someone in a foreign country appealing.
This contributed to my thoughts on self, others, and immigration because I've never really put much thought into things like overseas political unrest or conflict, and, as many people, I take my life for granted. I've never had to think about immigrating somewhere to better my financial prospects or join a loved one, I've just been happy where I was. This article helped to better my understanding of the many reasons why immigration takes place.
This article didn't really make connections to my past experiences, goals, readings, etc., but it definitely had a big connection to The Distance Between Us. In the book, Reyna's father migrates to the U.S. in order to make money and build themselves a real house back home in Mexico. That is, in a way, a twist of the "high standard of living," reason. Rather than having that higher standard of living in America, however, Natalio aims to have the higher standard be back in Mexico. Juana, Reyna's mother, also migrates to the U.S.. This can be for a few reasons. Start of a series and soul mate can both say that Juana migrates to rejoin Natalio, both because she may want to rekindle their marriage, and she got a letter back saying that he wanted her with him. High standard of living can also apply, as she went to help him raise the money for the better house. Finally, when Natalio takes the children back to the U.S. with him, the reasons for that can be start of a series, as they will join their father; a higher standard of living, though this time it will be in the U.S., not a better house in Mexico; education, because Mago, Carlos, and Reyna can receive a much better education with better opportunities later in life; and financially secured future, going alongside the education and the better prospects of a brighter, more financially stable future.
Before really thinking about the reasons for immigration, and when I was first reading the book, knowing that Natalio and Juana, as well as other parents, such as Cousin Élida's, had left their families behind as they went to the U.S. had struck a chord in my heart, as I have never really been without my parents for very long, and for these children to miss their parents for years upon years, it was sad. Not to mention that in my life, even if my parents are gone I can do pretty much everything that I could do when they are here, even more once I can drive. We have houses full of food and entertainment whenever we want it, and Reyna and her siblings were left to stay with their grandmother, who wasn't very nice to them, and they got little good food to eat. From all this, I kind of thought of the parents as mean and uncaring, though if you really think about it, which I did when I saw these reasons and made the connections, the parents might not have been all that uncaring after all. They did what they did because it offered better opportunities for their children, and themselves, to have better lives, and that, I think, is at the core of pretty much all reasons for immigration.
The reasons are as follows: Financially Secured Future, High Standard of Living, Education, Start of a Series, Political Reasons, Needs of Different Personalities, and Soul Mate.
Financially secured future is what it sounds like, people immigrate so that they can have a better chance of having a "financially secured future" in a more economically powerful and stable country, and less chance of falling into poverty or homelessness, which might be common in their homeland.
A high standard of living is also pretty self-explanatory. Some countries that don't have public services such as running water, a working sewage system, or health care may see their citizens immigrate to countries that do have those public services. Many times parents are immigrating so that their children won't have to go through what the parents went through as children, so that the children can live happier, healthier lives.
Education is simply immigrating in order to attain a higher level of education. This can be an adult that migrates so that they can go to a better college or university, or parents migrating so that their children can have access to the better school systems and have better prospects of having a financially adequate life themselves.
Start of a series is similar to chain migration. Immigration.net.in does a great job of explaining this, simply put, "The first person immigrates and sends “Happily Settled” information to his loved ones living in the native country. And then what… others also immigrate to the same country (or probably a better one) to enhance their future prospects." Paraphrased, one person migrates to another country, sends word back that they were successful, and others like them migrate to join the original immigrant, seeking the same prosperity.
Political reasons are some of the most important reasons. This is based on a push factor of political unrest, and a pull factor of political stability. The immigrant sees their country having political problems and thinks that it might lead to rebellion, war, ethnic cleansing, etc.. They know that there are other countries that have political stability, and migrates to that country in order to escape the political conflict, possibly as a refugee or asylum seeker.
Needs of different personalities states that some people are extroverts, better at putting themselves out there and making friends, so they migrate alone. Other introverts, who are better with the friends and family they have, will tend to migrate with their friends and family, rather than by themselves.
Soul mate says that people migrate simply because they find the idea of falling in love with a someone in a foreign country appealing.
This contributed to my thoughts on self, others, and immigration because I've never really put much thought into things like overseas political unrest or conflict, and, as many people, I take my life for granted. I've never had to think about immigrating somewhere to better my financial prospects or join a loved one, I've just been happy where I was. This article helped to better my understanding of the many reasons why immigration takes place.
This article didn't really make connections to my past experiences, goals, readings, etc., but it definitely had a big connection to The Distance Between Us. In the book, Reyna's father migrates to the U.S. in order to make money and build themselves a real house back home in Mexico. That is, in a way, a twist of the "high standard of living," reason. Rather than having that higher standard of living in America, however, Natalio aims to have the higher standard be back in Mexico. Juana, Reyna's mother, also migrates to the U.S.. This can be for a few reasons. Start of a series and soul mate can both say that Juana migrates to rejoin Natalio, both because she may want to rekindle their marriage, and she got a letter back saying that he wanted her with him. High standard of living can also apply, as she went to help him raise the money for the better house. Finally, when Natalio takes the children back to the U.S. with him, the reasons for that can be start of a series, as they will join their father; a higher standard of living, though this time it will be in the U.S., not a better house in Mexico; education, because Mago, Carlos, and Reyna can receive a much better education with better opportunities later in life; and financially secured future, going alongside the education and the better prospects of a brighter, more financially stable future.
Before really thinking about the reasons for immigration, and when I was first reading the book, knowing that Natalio and Juana, as well as other parents, such as Cousin Élida's, had left their families behind as they went to the U.S. had struck a chord in my heart, as I have never really been without my parents for very long, and for these children to miss their parents for years upon years, it was sad. Not to mention that in my life, even if my parents are gone I can do pretty much everything that I could do when they are here, even more once I can drive. We have houses full of food and entertainment whenever we want it, and Reyna and her siblings were left to stay with their grandmother, who wasn't very nice to them, and they got little good food to eat. From all this, I kind of thought of the parents as mean and uncaring, though if you really think about it, which I did when I saw these reasons and made the connections, the parents might not have been all that uncaring after all. They did what they did because it offered better opportunities for their children, and themselves, to have better lives, and that, I think, is at the core of pretty much all reasons for immigration.
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