Cultural Immersion: Migrant Farmworkers Are Immigrants

For thousands of years’ immigration to the United States has been considered one of the biggest problems and has been one of the topics most talked about, especially in this year, being one of the favorite topics to talk about in the presidential debates. Yet, due to speeches given by President Donald Trump little is known and talked about the problems immigrants, especially Latinos face day by day, socially and economically. By being a minority in the United States it has been very difficult for immigrant farm workers’ to get where they are now and have more opportunities than before the 1970s. Fortunately, there have been organizations and leaders that have helped immigrants through the years, one of these being Dolores Huerta.

There are many vulnerable populations within the United States. One of the many vulnerable populations are undocumented immigrants. Undocumented immigrants also known as illegal immigrants according to Wikipedia (2016) is defined as “the migration of people across national boarders in a way that violates the immigration laws of the destination country” (para 1). The United States of America has one of the largest population of immigrants. In this paper, I will be discussing the multiple stressors related to undocumented immigrants as well as the programs that can be used to help alleviate those stressors.

Almost all farm workers are illegal immigrants and are day laborers, must chase crops to make a living. Farm workers are also constantly at the mercy of variable adversities like natural disasters and bad weather. On average illegal migrant workers spend half of the year working and quarter of the year looking for a job. In addition illegal immigrants are hard to find a place to stay because they are in not in legal status and are required proper documentation by law to rent an apartment. On the other hand Illegal immigrants keep move place to place to find a job and looking for shelter to stay. Most of the illegal immigrants live with fear in face all time because of lack of job security and insecure life. According to Schlosser’s article "In 1951 the President 's Commission on Migratory Labor condemned the abysmal living conditions of illegal immigrants employed as migrant farm workers in the United States. At the time, workers were found living in orchards and irrigation ditches. They

Holmes’ purpose in conducting his fieldwork with the migrant workers (specifically the Triqui of Mexico) of California and Washington fruit agriculture was to gain understanding from a perspective many do not consider and that has not been assessed in this way before. Similarly, the goal of this book was to pass that understanding to the common reader, the average American, those who are affected directly and those who are believe they are unaffected by the migrants of American agriculture—and to distinguish that they are not unaffected. Doing so creates the potential for change, even if by only a small factor like

As the number of illegal immigrants entering the United States begins to increase once more, the issue of allowing or prohibiting immigrants to gain temporary status in order to obtain work continues to create national problems. According to a report given by the Department of Homeland Security, it is estimated that the number of immigrants entering the U.S. is at about 1.1 million people per year. (Hanson Par. 1) These individuals come into the United States in search of better living conditions and opportunities. However, these immigrants face challenges when it comes to work and other types of living.

One of the important problems that the author raised is the legal status of the illegal immigrants and their depressed living conditions. The legal status and living conditions are interconnected because in order to rent a decent apartment you need to prove that you are legally present in USA with thorough documentation which the illegal farm workers will not have and hence these poor workers were miserably compromised to live in pits, trenches and under trees. The author describes that the poor farm workers were very bad in shape and are constantly at the mercy of variable adversities like natural disasters and bad weather. If there is a storm they get wet all night and the only way they can dry up is to wait for the morning sunlight. Also illegal immigrants keep move place to place to find a job and look for shelter to stay because of their constant move they can 't afford to have permanent structured home at one

In “Everyday Illegal” Cecilia Menjivar explains how illegal immigrants are affected every day because of their illegal status. The undocumented immigrants wake up every day before dawn, they go to the fields to collect all the vegetables and fruits you are able to eat. Then, they go home after dusk. They do it every day for less than a half of what a person is expected to be paid. They are being exploited physically and mentally and not just because of the work conditions but, as Menjivar states “the undocumented (as well as their family members) often withdraw from public life for fear of detention and deportation” (725).

My cultural immersion focus is on the religious war in Nigeria. One of the interesting things I found in my research was that, in Nigeria the Christian faith and the Muslim faith represents the greatest percentage of religions. I also learned that the Christians and Muslims pray every day several times a day. With that being said, I wondered if they believed in a higher entity prayed every day, who they are praying to? And what is their belief system based on? (question 1) Since their Christian faith seems to be divided into Catholic, Protestant or some other, I decided to attend a typical Catholic Church service and a Friday mid-day Muslim prayer service. Maybe I should not have used the

The population discussed was the migrant farm workers in El Paso, TX, Las Cruces NM, and rural areas in between. There needs included that they live in poverty, they have low levels of education, they have a lack of healthcare, and there is a big issue connected with wage theft among this population. Some of the community resources available for migrant farm workers include an organization called Café. This organization is a Las Cruces based advocacy group that works towards polices that affect residents of Las Cruces and the surrounding burrows. Another community resource is the Texas Rural Legal Aid which provides legal help and education to the Migrant farm workers of Texas and New Mexico. An example of help they receive is legal help with

The agricultural sector in the United States is a significant contributor to the economy. The agricultural sector depends on manual labor that is provided by farm-workers who are involved in harvesting, planting, plants processing, houses packing and facilities preparation that are connected to farming (Bruhn 79). Most of the farm-workers are Latin American migrants and minor representations from other regions. Migrant farm-workers in America are a representation of one group that exists among the most marginalized and less served population in the state. A migrant farm worker is described as a person whose primary employment lies in the agricultural sector on a recurring basis and exists in houses that are temporary. In America currently,

Many Americans think that immigrants are bad for the US in general, but in fact, immigrants have a big impact in the US. We all know that immigrants might be a danger to the US and all around the world, some illegal immigrants might be killers or do bad things in the United States, also selling drugs that they brought from their countries. But most Americans unwind in a condition of the safe place. They experience their decent lives and disregard the world outside their eyes. Contemplating different nations gives a reasonable illustration of what appalling lives others live. As of now eighty-nine percent of Mexico lives in neediness. The normal Mexican specialist slaves throughout the day for a pitiful forty pesos which are a two dollars per day in America. On the off chance that an American had a family with a wife and two or three children, they

For the cultural immersion experience, I attended a Hawaiian and Pacific Islander luau. During the event I observed large extended families gathering. There were numerous hula groups dancing and musicians playing. There were a lot of children and it seemed that they were being cared for by their family, extended family, and other families. I did notice that some of the children seemed to be missing shoes or slippers. For instance, one child had one slipper on and one off and many children had no shoes or slippers on. However, in Hawaii people sometimes do not wear shoes or slippers outside, so it did not strike me as a concern. Everyone seemed to be relaxed and focused on sharing and creating together. For instance, five different large extended families had come together and prepared the food. Also, right before the meal

Immigration labor and it’s effects are clearly part of our current american political discussion, consequently the focus is mainly directed at the southwest and our border states, especially when it comes to the demanding conditions so many agricultural workers are faced with in states like California. This presentation is not designed to spark a debate over the pros and cons of our current immigration system, it is however meant to shed some light on a part of the country where this kind of labor is uniquely hazardous. The World Health Organization and the Human Rights Watch have both conducted reports detailing the conditions so many face, including children, within our Tobacco farming states, which include North

The immigrant labor force is the is seen in the eyes of many as a workforce that is hard working and honest. These individuals are part of a demographic that left homes, loved ones, and old lives behind to start a new living in a foreign land. This aspect facilitates a mindset of people who aren’t here to play games, so why is their existence something to be toyed with? One of the primary forms of employment that immigrants gravitate towards is day laboring. And for many immigrants coming into the United States who find themselves settling in both cities and suburban towns, the day laboring job market can prove to either be a gift or a curse. Day laboring can be described as unofficial and unregulated work for hire. In this labor exchange,

The cultural immersion experience that I chose to do was attend a Baptist Church in East Side Austin called Greater Mount Zion. I selected this event because one of my fellow colleagues attends this church. When I was growing up, I was only exposed to the Catholic religion. I thought it would be a great experience to expose myself to a different church where the majority of the individuals are from a different ethnic group. My preconceived expectations were that everyone was going to be dressed up and people were going to be screaming and shouting at church. I thought that people were going to look at me differently because only a certain type of ethnic group pertained to the church. I also had the conception that people were not going to accept me into their church or they were going to be looking at me differently. I believe that I felt this way based on what I have heard and the experiences I have encountered. Since I have been attending a Catholic church all my life, I knew that it was going to be completely different from what I am accustomed to.