Mexican Mistreatment Essay, Research Paper

Americans take many things for granted. For the bulk of the population, life is comparatively mild. Peoples are usually non rich, but non hapless, non rapturously happy, but non excessively down either. One might state that the population by and large has it easily, as compared to a big per centum of the remainder of the universe. It is for this ground that a great many people from other states immigrate here. They are seeking a better life. Often, nevertheless, they get mistreated. Like the Mexican immigrants, who arrive here, merely to be treated below the belt because of few chances, American bias, and Americanization. They do non come here to make injury, or to take advantage of Americans, or to make anything but find something better than their current state of affairs. However, their experience here is frequently non every bit good as it could be.

First of wholly, the chances the Mexican immigrants are presented with are really hapless. This is due in portion to the fact that they & # 8220 ; are willing to work hard for much less than they deserve & # 8221 ; ( Perea 2 ) . So of course, companies are traveling to take advantage of this. The normal available employment to the Mexicans is frequently so bad, as Harris points out, that is characterized by & # 8220 ; rough working conditions, tremendous sums of physical labour, and minimum wage & # 8221 ; ( 190 ) . This work, although non invariably, is frequently seasonal, like field work, picking fruit, and other such things that bring to mind slave labour. One adult male, picks strawberries for a life, at merely $ 4.00 an hr ( Ungar 137 ) . Not merely are the occupations atrocious, the wage is worse. Most of the clip, if & # 8220 ; minimal pay is attained, so the worker can see themselves lucky & # 8221 ; because it is rare ( Alexander 78 ) . The rewards for these occupations are low frequently because the companies know that people will travel for them. Often, their workers are illegal immigrants anyhow, and can non bespeak their rights. So whether or non the applier is legal or non, & # 8220 ; if they look Latino, so they get judged below the belt by the employer & # 8221 ; ( Nigel 46 ) . Because of their visual aspect, Mexicans get judged as all the same, as Hing speculates, as uneducated, despairing, and hardworking ( 124 ) . They are even sought after by possible employers because of this. One adult male speaks of happening some workers for a little occupation, stating, & # 8220 ; I? m traveling to happen some Mexicans for the occupation? they? ve got a good attitude, they work cheap, and they? rhenium reliable & # 8221 ; intentionally seeking out workers which he can overwork and underpay ( Ungar 238 ) .

Second, Mexican immigrants are severely mistreated by American bias. Something that fuels this bias is called nativism, which is & # 8220 ; an intense resistance to an internal minority on the evidences of its foreign connexions? a ardor to destruct the enemies of a distinctively American manner of life & # 8221 ; ( Perea 1 ) . Those that believe in nativism, nativists, are against in-migration, and are particularly against Mexican immigrants. They pose a great job to Mexican immigrants, particularly if they happen to be illegal foreigners. Nativists have passed something called Proposition 187, which was to & # 8220 ; Save Our State & # 8221 ; by forestalling & # 8220 ; illegal foreigners in the United States from having benefits or public services in the State of California & # 8221 ; ( Harris 61 ) . Although this is directed merely at illegal foreigners, it has an consequence of legal Mexican Americans excessively, because many merely assume by visual aspect that if one looks Mexican so he or she is an illegal foreigner. California Senator Craven even was quoted stating & # 8220 ; the province legislative assembly should research necessitating all people of Latino descent to transport and identification card that would be used to verify legal abode & # 8221 ; ( Against ) . This same Senator was subsequently once more quoted stating more atrocious things about Mexicans, that & # 8220 ; migratory workers are on a lower graduated table of humanity & # 8221 ; ( Against ) . Mexicans besides face a mass sum of discourtesy because of their fiscal position, as if people fail to recognize that they are coming here to better that. It is non merely the white population that is seting these people down, either. There are black groups around against Mexicans besides, & # 8220 ; advancing to other African Americans in addresss and cusps that Mexicans? are taking away our occupations, our adult females, a

nd everything else? ” ( Ungar 365 ) .

Last, all Mexican immigrants are capable to the grossly unjust procedure of forced Americanization. They are given no slack when it comes to the English linguistic communication. An immigrant can non last in America without cognizing English, and even if they didn? T want it, it would be forced upon them. For illustration, & # 8220 ; as of 1997, 22 provinces have declared English as the official linguistic communication & # 8221 ; ( Perea 79 ) . It is besides progressively difficult to acquire a occupation if you can? t speak English. Furthermore, in July 1992, & # 8220 ; Senator Robert C. Byrd stated during floor argument that the U.S. should halt accepting immigrants who do non talk English & # 8221 ; ( Hing 150 ) . The authorities has been so concerned with absorbing all the immigrants, and doing them all American, that sometimes it sounds chilling. For case, Americanization plans. Harris states that there was even one Americanization plan aimed straight at Mexicans. Such plans taught American ways to an extreme. Sometimes, they were to & # 8220 ; give up fried nutrients ; tortillas would be replaced with staff of life, and lettuce served alternatively of beans. & # 8221 ; They even intruded into more personal traditions, like a normal tiffin for a Mexican kid, & # 8220 ; a folded tortilla with no make fulling & # 8221 ; which was forcefully changed because it was & # 8220 ; purportedly the first measure in a life of offense, since the kid would be tempted to steal from others & # 8221 ; ( 209 ) . Reform Party presidential campaigner Richard Lamm is even quoted stating, & # 8220 ; America can accept extra immigrants, but we must do certain they become Americans & # 8221 ; and traveling on later to state that & # 8220 ; immigrants must show their desire to go? one of us? & # 8221 ; ( Against ) . Even in schools, Americanization is being pushed, where pupils must larn English merely to go to categories that teach American literature, history, and a myriad of other lessons in American civilization ( Romo ) . Bing Americanized about resembles a elimination of the civilization of the immigrant.

On last glimpse, it seems as if even though life as a Mexican immigrant is really difficult in America, they persevere. They have done nil incorrect to justify this sort of mistreatment. They come to America to happen better lives, or to do money to back up their households. They do non come to make harm to America, they don? t semen with any intent at all but to seek and do their lives better for themselves and for their households. They come anyhow, despite the fact that they will hold to hold few chances, trade with American bias, and Americanization. Because, unluckily, every bit bad as it is for them in the U.S. , it is frequently better than what they had back in Mexico. Mexican immigrants haven? t done anything incorrect, they are functioning as whipping boies, and they know it. They know full good how many people feel about them. A adult male named Woody Guthrie wrote a verse form about it:

& # 8220 ; Some of us are illegal and some are non wanted

Our work contract? s out and we have to travel on ;

Six hundred stat mis to that Mexican boundary line,

They chase us like criminals, like cattle thiefs, like stealers & # 8221 ; ( Perea 171 ) .

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