Issue Of The Week VI: The Perennial American Deportation Of Mexicans

Even though Mexicans do live in America illegally, I find it harsh how they have to be deported when caught. What if they did have a child that is U.S. born, a spouse in the hospital, been paying taxes for many years, or is successful with living here in the U.S.? Does none of that matter? I feel like we should somehow help them. It definitely is easier said then done, and if we did help them, then all other Mexicans would expect the help as well, but it’s just very cruel to be so harsh on the Mexicans all the time just because they are of the minority.

This article brings up a major issue in our country. An issue that many Americans turn their backs on and would rather put blame than reach an understanding. There are many sides to an issue and in order to make a well rounded and educated decision which will promote justice we must understand all sides of the story. The issue of Mexican deportation is huge and has been an on going problem. In the past Americans have used and taken advantage of Mexicans, as the article explains. They have worked hard for our country and most are only looking to feed their families and seek the same opportunities that all immigrants came to this great country for. It is easy to sit back and say "Hey my family got citizenship so why cant they?" It is easy to sit back say "Deport them, build another wall!" Putting blame instead of trying to understand all sides to the issue. Ive been down to Mexico and visited the Migrant Workers House. Ive talked to the men who have tried desperately to get citizenship but have been rejected because of something simple like they don't have a street address. Men whose families are starving and who make a living by searching through the dump they live on for items to make and sell. We have a third world country living right next door and have people who are desperately trying to escape and make a better life for themselves and their family. I believe the root of the problem lies in the process to gain citizenship. Do people really think those who are crossing over illegally and risk their lives and all their money and even seeing their families ever again do so because they are too lazy to get citizenship? If so I think before people judge and come to conclusions they need to see and understand both sides of the story. There is no quick fix to this issue. There is a better solution than deportation and building bigger borders.

I definitely agree with the comments above. It is very harsh how the Mexicans/Latinos have to be deported. And I'm taking a Latino Communities Studies Class, so I am kind of knowledgeable with these types of situations. I honestly had NO idea this was happening, and it's BEEN happening. I mean, real deal is that we are, indeed, experiencing an economic recession, and it really is hard to find work nowadays, but the constant back and forth with Mexican workers is not fair. I have learned in my Latino Communities class that America is basically a rubber band with the Latino Community and the undocumented workers. There are time lines that even prove that we ask them to come here, give them some benefits, and then blame them when many Americans have unemployment. But in all honesty, who is really willing to mow lawns, and clean houses, and do those low-income jobs that these people are doing? Who would allow someone to pay them (even sometimes) lower than minimum wage? Americans don't even like working fast food, or doing any type of "dirty work," so I would assume that they wouldn't even do field/farm work if they even had the chance. It is wrong what they're doing and raiding communities, public schools, and other places that "have a lot of Mexicans/Latinos. Just because you look like one (i.e. skin color, physical features, etc) you'll automatically be asked for papers, or just get deported. Something needs to happen, and we all definitely have to face that this is wrong.

I am appauled by the way the ICE treats people who live here illegally. There are rights and wrongs to every situation. But the way Mexicans are treated is unjust. I believe that what is unfair about deporting mexicans is that they aren't even given a chance to get everything together. There are some that have paid taxes, that have paid a lot of money to try to become legal, but when it doesn't happen then what is there left to do? Just like it says in the article--do they leave their homes behind? Do they leave their families behind? I also find it interesting that America focuses so much on deporting mexicans back to their homeland. What about Canadians? They have the phenotype of a typical white person, so is that why it is easier to get away with living in America illegally? Overall, I think Mexaicans should be given a chance to gain their citizenship, especially if they've lived in this country for such a long time.

This article was very well written and made fascinating points, yet I am still hesitant to say that illegals should not be deported. Coming from a more dense part of New York (Long Island) I have seen first hand, and worked with, people who are living here illegally. The ones I have spoken with are happy because they do not have to pay taxes and are still making more than if they were in Mexico. They wait by the 7-elevens for work, usually agricultural work, and take jobs away from honest, hard working landscaping companies. Now I am not saying that all illegals should be deported, rather should be given the chance to apply for citizenship. Moreover, if they just came over the border legally, this would not be an issue. I feel that actions should be taken, because it is unfair for all Americans to have illegal aliens living off the benefits that America has to offer...

I have a friend who is of Mexican decent and he is probably only the 2nd generation in America. His family celebrates their culture and they are grateful to be in this country after the struggle to get here and gain citizenship. My friend is ironically a Border Patrol Agent. He came out of the Coast Guard and wanted to transfer into something that had an equal pay scale and benefits. I always wonder though, how that makes him feel to go to work. Or if he feels anything at all. He may not. But I have heard some awful stories about his job and the things that go on.

Mexican deportation has been a tricky subject for many years now. I think that everyone should have a chance to "live the American dream" whatever that may be for them, but I do not think that if oyu are illegal oyu should live in America freely. It is a law like any other country to either have a Visa, green card, or gain citizenship if you are living in a country. It bothers me at times when I hear that people are living here illegally wanting a better life, but taking jobs from people that ARE citizens and some people are not even eager to learn English!
That being said, I have a lot of respect for people that leave everything they knew to try to live a happy, more successful life in America. I just think that it should be easier for people to gain citisenship or a green card for this country.

The fact that the deportation of Mexicans is a perennial event is so sad. The fact that many of them stay here illegally is even more dismal. Mexicans bring their families and live in secrecy doing tedious tasks for low wages and no benefits. Although the jobs they do benefit out society to a degree, it is still a very unfortunate situation. There are 15-20 million illegal immigrants living in the US today. They're trying to make their lives better, but should find a more legitimate way to do so. I think the fact that we treat them poorly is just too bad. We should treat them like any other human. Overall, Mexicans should be able to gain more opportunities to be granted citizenship to have an chance to benefit from all our great nation has to offer.

I heard about the detention facilities that are built around the united states to hold "illegals" while they are in the process of proving if they are an american citizen or not. Honestly I think this is a cruel tactic to deport these undocumented workers. That's what hey should be called not illegal immigrants or wetbacks etc. These people are human begins and should be treated as such. In addition, people have to realize that they are coming to this country because there is work for them. If you want to so called stop them from coming than maybe you should take a look at the CEO of wall mart who hire them or farms in the fields. Americans want them here to do work they do not want to do however they wan them deported. These people should be treated with more respect and not rounded up like they are some cattle. They are humans just like all of us, and Americans as society needs to real think there strategies

I too think that it is very wrong that they are treating the Mexicans this way. If they are trying to deport Mexicans because they think that they're illegal, well we were once illegal as well. We came and took this land from everyone, one of them being the Mexicans. We are actually the illegals here. So i don't get why they don't take that into consideration when they're doing these kinds of things. And the Mexicans who come over to the U.S are coming not for any bad reasons they're just here because they want a better life just like all of us when we first came here, the first i guess Americans like George Washington and the others came because they wanted freedom from the British rule, and the other races came because they seek better life or refuge because their country wasn't providing it. So why can't the Mexicans do the same?

I definitely do not agree with some of the deportation methods used to remove illegal immigrants mentioned in this article, however I do think that is valid they be deported. My mom works at a low income school here in town and some of these illegal immigrant's children attend her school and receive government aid, free breakfasts and lunch, and education even though these immigrants are not paying taxes. The spots that these children take in this school is taking away spots for low income children whose parents DO pay taxes. I do have sympathy for the children of these illegal immigrants and I do think they should be treated with dignity and respect, but I do not think it is fair that they are taking away the spots in government funded low income schools that are truly meant for under-privileged American citizens.

While reading this article I was almost disgusted with the way the Mexican's were being treated and how they were deported. The deportation in 1848 was to me extremely wrong. Because that was when the United States and Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe d'Hildalgo, which stated that all Mexicans who decide to stay in the U.S.would be treated as "whites" meaning they would get all the white privileges.So the fact that we didn't follow a treaty is just wrong, we told the Mexicans one thing and then turned around and did something else.

But at the same time I do think that people who came here illegally should be deported. I think that the people who take the time to come to America legally should be able to live the "American Dream". So to me if you want to come here and live a better life you should take the time to do it legally. That way when you come you will be able to reap all the benefits America has to offer.

I disagree with the methods the government uses in order to deport illegal immigrants because most of the times are been chase. Illegal immigrants are treated as harm for the U.S. when they only come to pursuit the American dream. In fact they work on poor conditions and low paid even if they work hard and for long hours. Their dream becomes a nightmare trying to escape from the border patrol. Especially Mexican immigrants are the most blamed from situations the government can’t fix such as the economy or crime rates so is easy to blame it on the increase of illegal immigrants.

After reading this article I felt angered in a way, I'm Hispanic and I have family who's been deported in the past years. It truly hurts to know what the ICE is doing to my people, its dismantling families and therefore causing poverty in many cases. When the bread winner in a Hispanic family is deported who then takes care of the rest of the family? Why is that Mexicans can not have the right to stay on land that was once theirs? It's unfair and morally wrong to dehumanize people simply because they are culturally or physically different. I feel like our society are bystanders, we see awful things happening to other races and we disregard the problem simply because it's not "us" who is having to deal with the problem. I know there's so much to do in order to change these laws, but acknowledging the things that are happening to other racial groups. Sometimes I think people are ignorant about certain issues especially when it relates to people of color. I think that the U.S. needs to be considerate of the many contributions these immigrants have brought to the nation, take the role of these individuals and realize that oppressing them is not the way to go about things. Overall I believe deportation is not the solution to this problem, there are other alternatives that can be done. Of course others maybe a bit complex but taking the easy way out is not the way to go about issues like these. There needs to be civil justice in this nation and equality.

Reading this article reminds me of the stories my father would tell me when he initially immigrated from Mexico to America in search of a better life. Being deported roughly six times, my father made his way from Texas to Southern California were my mother was waiting for him. My parents were determined to make a life in America were they knew that their children will have more opportunity of advancement. Most families that immigrate to America are in search of the American Dream. The majority have good intentions to work hard and sustain a steady quality life style. The stereotype of all immigrants committing crimes is not true in my honest opinion. My parents since day one have payed taxes and have never been able to recieve any benefits because my father basically did not exist in this coutry, unfortunately thats how it is for most immigrants. I believe its easy for current American citizens to say that mexicans are breaking the law by crossing the border because they are in America already and they have all the rights and opportunities that the Unites States has to offer, but if they were in the mexicans or any other illegal immigrant shoes they would have a different perspective.

This article reminds me of the constant need for green we as Americans continuously strive towards. If its not for the dead presidents that top our green money, or the few year old campaign to buy green products as if that’s the cure to savings the world, it’s the green card a person must hold in order to be tolerated while live in this great nation. One thing I find to be pertinent, especially when it comes to topics of immigration and deciding who should and shouldn’t be here, is to know the history of immigration through the eyes of immigrants. Reading history as history, is something I can admit is quite comforting. It’s the realization and finding out how closely the oppressions in the text we read are related to issues of today that’s difficult to digest. I don’t want to think the value placed on the wealth of a dollar is powerful enough to assist in the deporting of immigrants, genocide of a people, or anything else. But just the same, I do not want to perpetuate or sit back and watch the same occurrence manifest today.

I agree with many other comments that the deportation techniques of Mexicans in the US is a little rough, however, I do believe it is necessary when those in question are illegally in this country. With the current low state of our economy and many American citizens and permanent residents seeking government assistance, we do not need the added burden of those without the proper citizenship or residency documents in this country.
I understand that there are many situations where the proper paperwork can take a great deal of time to be processed and completed. In these situations, though, the paperwork is being processed. It is when people are coming to this country without even starting any paperwork and living completely off of what they have been given through government assistance that I feel my tax dollars are being taken advantage of.
Even though the current techniques are a bit rash, they are very necessary to help this nation find a way out of this recession and into the future.

History has a way of permanently effecting our attitudes and actions toward certain events or groups of people. "Well that's the way it's always been," is often times spoken, but not enough times is the question inquired, "Where do we go from here?" My views toward deportation have been a roller coaster ride. The media portrays it one way, while sympathy, emotion, and pure common sense portray it in a whole new aspect. Broadcasting channels don't give a face to the statistics of the Mexicans trying to come into America. If they do give a face, it's a face of someone trying to take away what America stands for, a face that is all too often misrepresented. There's a reason why people are wanting to come to America. The reason is the same reason why our Founding Fathers came to America: a longing for a better life, a renewed hope, a reason to wake up in the morning and feel pride in who you are and the opportunities that life is presenting to you.

Like many others who have lived in California for most of my life i believe there are good and bad views to the efforts going on with illegal immigration. First, those who have live in the US, gotten a job and applied for a visa or residence should not be forced to leave. They are hard working people that deserve a chance like the rest of us with families. However, where i think illegal immigration is justified is for those who come here with drug cartels, form gangs to become destructive to our cities; and break the laws that our governments have established to protect its people. Immigration can and should not be seen in a black/ white point of view. Like society it has multiple aspects that should be considered.

I think that what has happened and what is recently happening to the Mexican's is unjust and so very wrong. I also believe that you need to hear the story from all sides because until then you can't form a very educated opinion. So many people read one well written article and choose to take that side and believe it. I think what we need to do in all cases to form opinions is a whole lot of research. We can't just base an opinion off what our teacher in class taught us or believe what our parents believe. Our thoughts should be our own and should be educated. There are some reasons that some illegals should not be allowed here and those are the ones who are criminals and destructive to our society. We already are paying for so many U.S citizens who are in jail here we don't need to take on anymore. As for the people who have always followed the law and are upstanding citizens- I believe they have every right to be here.

This article parallels the current debate we ar having in our country about illegal immigration and how to solve the problem. There are many different views ranging from amnesty for all to deporting all who fit the stereotype, and everything in between. Personally I'm not 100% sure where I stand all I know is that deportation of all who fit the stereotype is wrong, we should find a way to work with those who are already inside our country and have jobs pay taxes and have families here. It doesn't make any sense how hypocritical the government is they bus in Mexican immigrants to work in the fields or to do the jobs that most Americans don't want to and they get paid way less then any American would accept or would even be legal to pay an American citizen. Also I had know about the history of illegal immigrants from the Mexican American war but I had never knew this much detail and about how during the California gold rush That many mexicans who had perfected gold mining techniques could not claim their findings and they even had to give up claims they already registered and they had to work for "real" americans. I had never heard about the 1915 texas rangers cleaning out the infestation of mexicans in san antonio. I had heard a small amount about president hoovers operation "Mexican repatriation" but had never heard the statistic that 60% of the "mexicans" forced to go back to mexico were actually us born and should be naturalized citizens. Similarly many us born mexicans wewre deported years later in 1952 in operation wetback created by president Eisenhower, they deported more then one million mexicans and to ensure they never come back they were taken 500+ miles into mexico, to me this seems outrageous to just send people who look mexican back to mexico when some of them never lived there before they were born and raised in the United States. Currently they have a immigration and customs enforcement team who's goal is to catch undocumented immigrants and deport them. They round up anyone who fits the stereotype, they take these "mexicans" to detention centers that are being expanded to allow for more inmates, here the rule is no papers= deporation they do not care if you had been working here and paying taxes, or if you have natural born children here, without the famously magical green card as they call it in the article you must leave. The last line of this article says that the ICEs job is to deport illegal wetbacks, spicks boarder raiders, and to take back American jobs, and to decrease the amount of pele on welfare. this job description is wrong in so many ways, first of all the use of derogatory terms to me seems wrong of the bat it shows a huge negative biased to all brown people. When it says take back American jobs I laughed because most of the jobs the posses no americans would even want them, and the welfare comment made me laugh because illegal immigrants can not get access to welfare since 1996 when president Clinton added the terms of pwora, also the media tries to influence people to believe that a disproportionate amount of mexicans are on welfare when actually it is a vast variety of every population in this country even white people. Another thing, about the magical green card, the test that they make them take to get a gene card is extremely hard, I took it once for fun in 10th grade and failed, most American citizens probably don't even know the answers. Its ridiculous and unfair how we treat them, we need to do something about the problem that take into account the view of them as individuals first.

As the amazing comedian George Lopez stated, who do you think runs this country? The issue of sending Mexicans back to their homeland barely touches the surface in the sense that Mexicans are hurting our economy and hurting our country. I feel that the thoughts and actions that individuals take is a form of racism that is hidden behind the ideas of Mexicans destroying society. What about the notion of the “border crossing us?” That has to hold some validity to it. Also the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo gave many Mexicans somewhat equal rights and to be somewhat treated as white. I recently viewed a film titled “800 Mile Wall,” and flat out without any reservation I believe that border patrol agents as well as government officials view Mexicans less than human and those individuals don’t care if they die crossing the border. There’s also the thought about George Lopez saying that in 5 years Mexicans will be the majority in this country. Is it such a farfetched idea that maybe the government is aware of this and trying to cut down the Hispanic race by promoting fear and destroying lives? I believe it makes for an interesting discussion that both sides can be argued.

I have to agree with what has been said above me, and unfortunately cannot add much more to it. But from examples I've seen, both in reality and in various classes, our country is very indecisive when it comes to Latino people. Not only are the majority of Latinos classified as Hispanic or Mexican, which puts them in a stereotype as one people out of many, but they are also "kicked out" at will, and then brought back in when the U.S. "needs them." In other words, when it's inconvenient to have Latinos here, such as when we are using them as scapegoats for our economy, then some are happy to simply say that the solution is to remove them or at the very least, dominate them in such a way that makes them feel oppressed. However, as we have seen with topics such as the Bracero program, Latinos, and more specifically Mexicans, at the time were welcome with open arms to come and help out the country. So if the country can't make up its mind about what to do with this whole group of people, along with the day to day stereotypes and forms of racism that occur, then we'll forever be in this state of confusion regarding these people and their status here.

What is sad to me that over history we have seen how whenever there are economic crisis in the United states, deportations are the solution, and then when the U.S is doing fine and there is a need for workers ( cheap labor) the U.S "opens" the border to Mexicans and immigrants in general. What it is unfair and sad is the way they do it. Undocumented people live here under the shadows because as this article mentions they pay taxes and they live according to the laws of this country. I personally have lived experiences in which i have seen families torn apart because of deportations. I would never forget when my little sister's friend came and knocked at the door of my house around 9 pm. She was crying and her two little sisters were with her. She only said " my mom did not get home" my mom asked her " she didn't get home from where", "from worked she said". We were very worried and she would not answer her cellphone, later one of her friends came to their house and told us that mom had been deported. This kind of story is repeated day to day. I would never understand why they call them "illegals" why they persecute them day to day when the only thing that they are doing in this country is contributing to the economy, to society.

The history of deportation in our country is horrific. I don't understand why some people think it is okay to force people to leave based on ethnicity or race. Many people don't have any knowledge about the injustices in our country brought about by the government. But I too agree with the comment about seeing from all sides. I understand how unreasonable it is to force people to leave their homes in the U.S. and move back to their "home country", not knowing where they are going to live or not being prepared to support themselves.
I have no problem with immigrants coming to the U.S., both of my parents came to America as immigrants. They both had to endure the long process of gaining citizenship. I think it is important for immigrants to gain citizenship. But I don't agree with the process of gaining citizenship. I think that the government needs to figure out a new way to accompany the needs of people who want to be citizens of the country in a faster way. I too agree that there is a better solution than deportation if one is illegal, but I also agree that is important to gain citizenship because I know of many people who worked hard and waited a long time to become a citizen.

I do not think it is right for illegal immigrants to stay in our country. Breaking the law in any way is not okay. The methods for deporting illegal immigrants are downright immoral. There has to be a better, safer, kinder and more effective way of taking care of this problem. I’ll never forget the day in class when my professor showed on the projector a chart displaying the process of becoming a legal citizen. I was astounded! It seemed near impossible, especially with the lack of resources that foreigners have. The part in the article that featured the rapid fire questions and frank answers really broke my heart that people would be treated that way in America.
“No papers? Deportation! But what about my U.S. born children? Take them or leave them! ICE does not care either way...”

I admit when I first started hearing about them deporting Mexicans I thought good, they shouldn't be here illegally. But, really since I've been learning so much about the actual people themselves and how hard it is to become legalized I feel a lot different now. I imagine what I would do if I lived in a third world country with my daughter and someone told me I had to wait thirty some years to get my passport to go to the U.S. I wouldn't wait, I would just leave illegal or not just to make sure my daughter gets the best eduacation. And then you think about what it must be like for a person when do get here. Yeah they have the opportunity to make more money and have an education but what about all the stigma related to being dark and Mexican. Just yesturday I was driving up North on the 5fwy and when I passed the border patrol I noticed that of course only dark people were being stopped. All white people just got a wave from the patrols to keep going all Mexicans were stopped. I was so angry how this system is being controlled by racism. Now ask me if I think it's right that they can be here illegal? No I do not. Would I do the same thing to give my daughter a better future? Yes. But I really do not think that immigration would be such an issue if we maybe live next to England. Just like we don't have a problem with Canadians immigrating here.

Those who don't belong here, shouldn't be here. Period. But the way Americans go about deporting illegals is very wrong. The aspect of "no papers, deport them" shouldn't be the case. There should be some type of leniency. If someone deserves to be here (meaning they actually have proper paper work and are law abiding citizens) then they should have the chance to prove that, but not in a holding cell. Immigration lawyers are expensive and many Mexicans are hard working, blue collars who are trying to support their families.
But this is not to say all Mexicans should be here. If some were to sneak across the border then they should definitely be sent back. They, like everyone else, have to follow the rules about becoming a citizen in our country. Yes, America is the land of opportunity, but only for those who follow the rules and are citizens; not the free loaders and low-lifes that cheat the system.

At first thought i felt it was right to deport the illegal Mexicans when they were caught living in America. After reading this article I changed my opinion because i thought there were some exceptions. Some of them have children who are American born or a spouse that is a US citizen and some of them have been paying US taxes for many years. I do not think it is right to deport these type of people. These people don't deserve to be thrown out and leave everything behind. We do need to secure the border more so we don't have big influxes of people coming over the border.