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Immigration Case Study Essay

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Immigration Case Study

The border between Mexico and the United States has witnessed millions of individuals crossing to and from each country. Migration involves the (more or less) permanent movement of individuals or groups across symbolic or political boundaries into new residential areas and communities (Marshall, 1998, p. 415). Some cross for travel experiences, some cross for quick visits to see relatives, and others are crossing the border to improve their quality of life. From a negative point of view, some pay an absurd amount of money to "coyotes" to smuggle themselves and family members across the border, and some cross to smuggle narcotics for the drug cartel. This case study ethnography focuses on how government issues …show more content…

They owned a couple of cars and had a three bedroom home in a relatively upstanding neighborhood. She feels that in comparison to many other immigration stories, they were very fortunate to have been as successful as they were. She says that her family felt their share of discrimination, however, they were very lucky to have met some "white" Americans that helped them establish their landscaping business. She lost touch with her brothers, but maintained a relationship with her sister. They did not have to send remittances to Mexico because all of her family that she knew of was here in America.

I heard similar stories at a day labor pick-up site in El Mirage, Arizona. My mother-in-law, who is Mexican, accompanied me to this site and stood in as my translator as we approached the laborers. We arrived at approximately five o?clock in the morning, and there were already a handful of men waiting for opportunities of work to arise. As the morning went on, more people arrived, and at the same time others left to various job sites. Most of the work seemed to have been for agriculture, construction and landscape work. Few of the men that my mother-law and I came in contact with did not speak very good English and were very shy about speaking of their personal history. A good number of these men were forced out of Mexico because of a lack of employment, left their families behind, and were

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