Across the Great Divide

The group trip into Mexico allowed me to explore the root-causes for immigration from Mexico into the United States. In contrast, most of the time in Tucson has focused on the effects of migrants after they cross the border. I both aspects of the issue are important for fully understanding the issue of immigration.

In several instances during the trip, the group was able to speak with migrants to better understand their reasons for attempting to cross into the U.S. One of the most common reasons they cited was the lack of jobs in Mexico and other economic factors. The migrants thought that by moving to the U.S. they could have a better life than the one they currently had. Some of these migrants either did not have a job where they came from or had such a poor paying one that they could not support their families. They are willing to undertake this journey that puts their lives in mortal danger often so that their children have enough to eat.

The minimum wage at the maquiladoras was only about seven dollars a day. While the conditions in the maquladora we visited were not at the level of sweat shops (though this was one that was willing to show off their factory, so there are probably ones that are less safe and and treat their workers worse), many of the workers at the factories had to live in shanty-towns. We were able to view one such neighborhood and it was a very depressing experience for me. I felt bad that some people have to face such abject conditions such as these with little hope of escape. Many of the ‘houses’ were just pieces of wood haphazardly put together. There was no running water and there was also unsupervised young children playing. It is no surprise then that people would undergo great risks to get away from such circumstances. Others common reasons consisted of having family in the U.S. or having lived there and established their lives for many years (one person that was planning to cross had been living in the U.S. for 14 years). A major part of their lives exists in the U.S. and they are trying to reclaim that.

I should note that the person we talked to from Grupos Beta, an organization that works to help migrants, claimed that many of the migrants choose to cross after seeing people come back with trucks full of goods from the U.S. That is, they envy their success and want to be ‘bigshots’ like them. While it may be true that some people immigrate into the U.S. because they want purely material goods, from my talks with the migrants themselves it did not seem like this was not the main reason for anyone crossing the desert. I think desperation is a more accurate explanation for the majority of migrants.

The personal conclusion I reached is that I could not blame these migrants for trying to cross. If I was living in poverty and crossing was my best chance for having a better life for myself or my family, then I would take it even if it meant violating the laws of the country I am entering. In such cases I judge the duty of the individual towards their families to be more of a priority than following the laws of the U.S. If I had to choose between the welfare of my family and breaking a law that does not cause direct harm to others, I would choose my family and would expect others to do the same. So, I would not classify immigration through non-legal means as an immoral act on the part of the migrants. I understand why they do it, and I see them as justified.

However, this should not be taken as an endorsement of open border policies. I am claiming that the immigrants are justified for doing what they are doing. But, this does not entail what the responsibilities are for the U.S. It is unfortunate but also true that people all over the world suffer from the effects of poverty and they will continue to do so even if the U.S. starts a concerted effort towards providing aid for such individuals.

So at this point there are still a few questions I am wondering. What exactly are the responsibilities that the U.S. government has toward these migrants? Is the U.S. government be acting ethically when it works to limit immigration into this country? The U.S. government is choosing to exercise this option of limiting immigration and I want to know if this is inherently immoral. I am separating this from the question of whether the specific process being used is moral or not. I am more certain that elements of the current process, like funneling immigrants through the most dangerous crossing points (the Arizona desert) and severely curtailing their rights through Operation Streamline are wrong. Rather, I am wondering is it necessarily a violation of the rights of migrants by not allowing them to enter the U.S.

What I learned from Mexico helps me to better understand the issue, but I still need to determine the answers to these questions before I can take a stand on what type of solution I would like to see for the issue of immigration. There’s no easy answer here even though both the left and the right see it that way. This is a tough, emotional issue, which I felt much more personally after this trip into Mexico.