The Land Of The Open Grave Analysis

Reyna Grandes’s Across a Hundred Mountains was written in 2006, it is a stunning and heartfelt novel about migration, loss and discovery. It was published by Washington Square Press and its two hundred and sixty-six pages will captivate the reader from the beginning. The novel depicts the desperation of undocumented immigrants who make the dangerous journey across unfamiliar land to reach the border for “El Otro Lado” (the United States). The author, Reyna Grande gives the reader a glimpse of the everyday struggles these families are faced with and the heart-wrenching decisions made in the pursuit for a better life. There are different themes in this novel, they range from fractured family ties to heartbreaking poverty affecting the family and how religion is used to seek relief from these events. Therefore, an evaluation of the novel will be made on the social issues affecting these individuals, the challenges they face, and apply the ecological perspective along with its strengths. Lastly, an explanation will be given in which a social worker can help to address the issues that affect these individuals.

In Our Fear of Immigrants, Smith begins with the story of a fourth grade class in Berkeley, California that is devastated by the loss of their friend, Rodrigo Guzman, whom authorities sent back to Mexico because of an expired visitor’s visa. With the help of their parents, these fourth graders in Berkeley, California sent their friend a comforting video and wrote a letter to their Congressmen in protest against the deportation of Rodrigo. Smith then tells of the protestors in Murrieta, California who blocked buses transporting undocumented immigrants to a holding facility (751).

In the reading land of open graves by De Leon, discusses the dangers that millions of Mexican and central Americans face when trying to get into the United States undocumented. These people include people who have the dream of living in America and creating a new life where they can support their families. Also for those who have been deported back to Mexico being separated from their families and are in hopes of being reunited with their loved ones. These people face a hard battle ahead of them because they have to travel through the Sonoran desert of Arizona that is one of the largest deserts in North America. And have to deal with not only fighting the harsh desert elements, while only caring as many supplies as they can. They also have to deal with the structural violence that goes under looked that thousands of Mexicans have to face while migrating to the United States.

In Ruth Gomberg-Muñoz’s book, Labor and Legality: An Ethnography of a Mexican Immigrant Network, she allows us to enter the everyday lives of ten undocumented Mexican workers all living in the Chicago area. Ruth Gomberg-Muñoz refers to Chuy, Alejandro, Leonardo, Luis, Manuel, Omar, Rene, Roberto, Lalo, and Albert the ten undocumented Mexicans as the “Lions”. This book shares the Lions many stories from, their daily struggle of living as an undocumented immigrant in America, to some of them telling their stories about crossing the border and the effects of living in a different country than their family, and many other struggles and experiences they have encountered. Ruth Gomberg-Muñoz’s book delves into

Ruth Gomberg-Muñoz’s, Labor and Legality is a book written on the Mexican immigrant network in the U.S. She centers it on the Lions, a group of Mexican men from Leon, Mexico that all share their lives and help explain the many networks and strategies that are used in order to excel and gain happiness. There have been many different sorts of misconceptions about immigrants, and in recent years about undocumented immigrants from Mexico. The U.S. has made a sort of war on illegal immigrants and has made it a seemingly high priority in the media and in politics. Therefore, many Americans have been mislead and ill-informed about the history of immigrants/undocumented immigrants. Gomberg-Muñoz’s Labor and Legality helps set us straight. She unveils undocumented immigrants for the people that they are instead of the criminals that the media leads many to believe. Although she doesn’t have a wide range of participants for her study, I believe that she addresses many of the misconceptions and just plain ignorance that American people have of people that are undocumented; why stereotypes are supported by the people themselves, why politicians include stronger illegal immigration laws, and everything in between. Many of her topics reveal a sort of colonialism that the U.S. practices on Mexico; the exploitation of undocumented peoples to the benefit of the U.S. through economics, hypocritical laws and campaigns, and the racist and prejudice consequences.

They slip into the San Diego rail yard furtively, preferably beneath the protective cover of darkness, jumping fences, eluding guards and dodging two hundred -ton locomotives in a perilous dash for the most elusive of prizes, a free ride to the north. According to Jose Flores, an illegal Mexican immigrant seeking work in the United States says, “To be truthful, I have no idea of precisely where this train goes, other than it takes us to el norte” (Griffin 363+). The fact that each night literally hundreds of men and women clamber over the barricade is testament to its ineffectiveness and to the irresistible pull of United States jobs “that on average pay eight times their equivalent in Mexico” (Griffin 363+ ). Javier Ortega, a 40-year-old auto body repairman from Guadalajara, says, "It doesn 't matter how many people, horses, bicycles, helicopters or planes they use…. People will go. It doesn 't matter if the fence is electric" (Griffin 363+). These people carry dreams with them in hopes for a better life. These people are willing to walk day and night through any desert and any river they come across to achieve the “American Dream.” Illegal immigration between Mexico and the United States is a serious situation that needs to be solved. To better understand this situation, one must analyze the causes and effects and come up with a solution.

In his essay Bajadas, Francisco Cantu explores the physical and emotional landscapes that shift during his time as a United States border control agent. He candidly writes about his experiences, using imagery to describe the physical landscape of New Mexico in a way that mirrors his own emotional landscape and answers the question that he grapples with most. Cantu writes, “There are days when I feel I am becoming good at what I do. And then I wonder, what does it mean to be good at this? I wonder sometimes how I might explain certain things…” (7). This important question is what drives Bajadas; it is what compels Cantu to write so vulnerably. Through a journal-like structure, Cantu details what his job requires of him and the way he treats

Jose Antonio Vargas, a Pulitzer Prize winning author, shares his life-long journey as an undocumented immigrant in his text, “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant.” As the title suggests, Vargas attempts to convey to his audience, who likely never has and never will experience anything similar to what he has, what it is like to live as an immigrant in the United States of America. Skillfully, Vargas details the perfect number of personal stories to reach the emotional side of his audience, which is anyone who is not an immigrant. Through the use of his personal accounts Vargas is able to effectively communicate that immigrants are humans too while simultaneously proving his credibility, as he has experience and a vast amount of knowledge

The book, “The Devil’s Highway,” by Luis Alberto Urrea tells of the story of a group of men who tried to get to the United States using this long and dangerous pathway. While this book was written in 2005, some of the problems mentioned in the book still go on today, as do their reasons for taking part in this dangerous journey. This book opens up people’s eyes to what people will do for even just a little glimpse of something better, something that they can be happy with. Urrea’s telling of these men’s story relates to many things and teaches us how things are in places a lot of people in America don’t pay attention to.

Edna St. Vincent Millay’s “Thou famished grave” and “Mindful of you” both include the themes of death, however, “Thou famished grave” uses the personification of a grave as a starving beast, diction to add imagery of starvation, and an image of a strong will to live to show the resentfulness and bitterness that the speaker has towards death, while, “Mindful of you” uses the imagery and personification of the four seasons to remember someone close who has died, to express that although death may take people physically, but they live and are remembered through memories.

The book Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies: Migrant Farmworkers in the United States illustrates the fieldwork of the author Seth M. Holmes by explaining the myriad aspects of migrant workers’ lives in the U.S.—from the politics to the social environments to the physical body. By not only studying, but living, the lives of these migrant workers, Holmes brings the reader a view unseen by the vast majority and provides the opportunity for greater understanding through the intense details of his work. The voices of vastly different characters—real people—are captured and expounded on without judgment but with deep consideration for all factors that contribute to each person’s life, opinions, and knowledge. Ultimately, a picture of intersectionality is painted in the colors of migrants, mothers, fathers, children, doctors, soldiers, executives, the poor, the rich, and more.

Many American citizens are responsible for illegal Mexican immigrants’ determination to enter the United States because numerous American citizen’s revenue money, drugs, and fame as a lifestyle which makes America the center of attraction for illegal immigrants to cross the border. It is clear that most Mexican immigrants transport an abundant amount of money payments and drugs across the U.S. border in return for more money so gangs and cartels can earn a recognized status through money and respect. Citizens of the U.S. have impacted and altered the American social economic status in a negative way. Most Mexican immigrants travel north in groups to cross the United States border to achieve their goal; live a better life so they can support themselves and their family. Although there are U.S. customs and border patrol agencies that have a duty to protect and secure the border from illegal aliens entering the U.S., some still successfully cross and enter the U.S. -Mexican border illegally. In the book The Devil’s Highway, Urrea explains the “Rules of the Game” where illegal immigrants experience a traitorous journey depending on their guides. Their country and group leader fail to successfully support the group and citizens of Mexico.

and Mexican governments and awareness campaigns carried out between 2013-2014 successfully sent the message to residents of the primary sending countries in Central America. However, Central American men, women and children continue to travel north into the migrant trail and across Mexico. The analysis of The Beast Riding the Rails and Dodging Narcos on the Migrant Trail by Oscar Martinez offers concrete, systematic evidence of the relative weight crime victimization plays in the migration decision. The Beast allows us to understand why these individuals continue to make the trip when seemingly fully aware o the dangers involved and supports to suggest that no matter what the dangers of migration may be in the future it is preferably to a present-day life of crime and violence endured in the Northern Triangle. Having such knowledge of what motivates Central Americans to consider migration and understanding the influence of this prior knowledge in their decision for immigration along with an understanding of how preceding U.S. and Mexican efforts to deter immigration grants the United States government to understand immigration patterns and a possible solution for mass migration crisis. The current migration dilemma and book proposes the possibility of a different attempt on behalf of the United States government to deter migration from the Northern

The Land of Open Graves was a dynamic piece that followed stories of the Mexican-American Border land through a series of anthology-like stories. What made chapters 1 -5 so impactful were the ways in which the stories were conveyed. The author began with a tale of people scouring the desert for undocumented, human remains. Then there was a fictitious journal that mimicked the reality of four migrant workers. Other entries included an explanation of death in the desert, the following of humor in migrant workers and life in the deported role. Although all of these different stories seem divergent, they have central theme that the author draws on throughout the first 100 pages – the unparalleled hostility and negligence perpetrated by the government. The author is adamant about the idea of “Prevention Through Deterrence” and the harsh reality about the border and the way the United States treat those who cross the border. I would like to explain my reaction to each of the chapters below.

The United States border with Mexico is one of the most interesting borders in the world. Although it is not a military front like the border between the Koreas or as militarized as the border of Russia and the Ukraine, there is a lot going on that requires attention. The southern border of the United States is different from almost all of those in the world because many of its problems are based off of the economic disparity between each country. The difference between wealth and quality of life is substantial and results in people going beyond regular means to cross the border to have a better life. There is also a large difference in the legal and law enforcement system that is exploited by Mexican cartels to make money through drug and human trafficking. The differences between these two