Passage way for present day:
Visas
“Juan”who came to the US in 2003 when he was 30, recalls his journey to America
by car with his papers all set, but entering the U.S wasn’t as simple as some
made it seem it would be. He was asked multitudes of questions before he was
admitted within the country, “at the time there was a lot of identity theft and
I guess they just wanted to be sure these were my papers” (“Cardona”, 2012).
by car with his papers all set, but entering the U.S wasn’t as simple as some
made it seem it would be. He was asked multitudes of questions before he was
admitted within the country, “at the time there was a lot of identity theft and
I guess they just wanted to be sure these were my papers” (“Cardona”, 2012).
“Suzana”,17 came to the US in 1998, her story was much different. She entered
the U.S byplane, and when she was passing through immigration it went very
quickly, shewas asked her name where she was going and was sent on her way.
“I couldn’tthink, I could barely speak any English, but the officer was very kind,
I thinkit took longer to get to the officer then I was actually talking to him”(“Martinez”, 2012).
the U.S byplane, and when she was passing through immigration it went very
quickly, shewas asked her name where she was going and was sent on her way.
“I couldn’tthink, I could barely speak any English, but the officer was very kind,
I thinkit took longer to get to the officer then I was actually talking to him”(“Martinez”, 2012).
Assuming that a person is going to enter the United States legally, then that means that they were able to obtain one of two kinds of visas, immigrant or nonimmigrant visas. An immigrant visa allows a person to work and live legally within the United States. Nonimmigrant visa allows a person to obtain a tourist, workers, business, or student visa among many others to come into the United States. If one of these visas is secured then that means that the person is allowed to come to the country by any means (plane, car, train, boat) though upon entering the country a person will have to fill out an I- 94 form. The form asks for their name, their country of origin and their destination within the U.S.; the form is given when entering the country and is surrendered before exiting the country ("U.S. visas," 1998-2012) & ("How foreign citizens," 2010-2012).
Illegal Entry
“Who wouldn’t want to come to the United States legally? The problem is that visas now a days are hard to come by and if you do have a visa, like my aunt, they expire. When that happens a person has to decide either to remain and reside illegally or go back and reapply for a visa. Or maybe you’re like me, I wanted to come into the United States as a resident but it costs money and takes a lot of time. That was something my family didn’t have, we were barely able to pay for our home much less food. I decided in 1995 at the age of 32 that instead of spending thousands of dollars to be a resident and watch my family suffer in the bad conditions we were in I decided to pay a“coyote” to bring me over, and even that decision wasn’t a sure one,” recalls“Thomas”. In reality more than half of the people decide to hire a “coyote” to bring them over then invest time and money in getting a visa (Walsner, McNeill& Zuckerman). In the early days of the 1970s and the 1980s people were paying $3000 Salvadorians pesos which today would translate to about $500 to $600. Fast forward thirty, forty years later people are paying almost ten times that amount if not more; coyotes are charging more as years pass. Four of the people I interviewed that have come in the past three years were charged around $7000 - $7500, now they work to pay off their debt and send money back to their family or make a living for themselves (“Bonilla”, “Martinez”, Gomez”, and“Piñeda”, 2012). It can also be seen in a chart that was released just two years ago the rapidly increasing charge to be brought over to America (Mexican Migration Project, 2009).
Latin Americans crossing the desert
“My group and I all gathered together early one morning and met up with the man that was to take us across the border. From our small town we left to the capitol, to catch the bus that would take us to the capitol of Guatemala where a man would take us all the way to Mexico. The “coyote” would then take us through the River and cross over to America, where we had to wait for our next ride. Once the truck came we quickly had to get in so that the driver could take us to a house where we waited for the coyote who would take us to another house where we waited to leave to meet our families. But in the end I made it across the border at 19 and here I am now.”recalled “Garcia” of his journey. For immigrants who come to America through the desert, they have to face harsh weather, extreme heat or even winters. Some immigrants die while traveling through the desert, immigrants need at least 6 gallons of water and most immigrants barely carry one gallon of water with them ("Inmigrantes a merced," 2012). There are also some cases where“coyote’s” just leave the people that they bring stranded in the desert, where immigrants usually die and while others are fortunate to be found and rescued ("Desierto de Arizona," 2012).
Central Americans Weight for the train heading North.
(Jorge Lopez/Courtesy Reuters).
Though not all immigrants journey in the same way as“Garcia” did. Others come to America by riding on top of the train known as the “Beast”, immigrant’s board when they arrive in Mexico and head toward the U.S. The risks that these immigrants face are greater in the sense that they also face death or face amputations. They could even fall off the train or branches can hit the people as the train goes by and cause serious damage (Penhaul, 2010) & (Walsner, McNeill & Zuckerman). The way that present immigrants come to America is unlike how immigrants in the 19th century came but what these two time periods do have in common is the traps and false claims that were given to immigrants hoping to get to America.
Traps and False Claims
The bodies of immigrants assinated by Los Zetas. (2010)
Traps and false claims happen very often to many immigrants especially for women. Any
of these immigrants can be taken and held hostage with the purpose of extorting their family members for more money so that they can be released. Both the victims and their family members are being told that if they do not give the “coyote” the money they are asking then they will kill either the immigrant or the immigrant’s family members (Walsner, McNeill & Zuckerman). Immigrants are in danger of being held hostage not only by the person who brought them here but also by the people around them and the infamous group “los Zetas”. Often the “coyote’s” even have officials take the immigrants money and they divide it up
among themselves ("400 mil centroamericanos," 2011) & ("Autoridades migratorias eeuu," 2012). The risks of being sexualy abused by the “coyotes” is also common and has happened
to at least 60% of women that pass through Mexico. Children are also targeted for such abuses. Women often are in dire need of money that when a person offers them a job abroad that seems to be true these women jump at the chance. The problem with many of these offers is that once they arrive in America they are thrown into prostitution and are told they cannot leave until they payback their trip (Walsner, McNeill& Zuckerman) & ("Autoridades migratorias eeuu," 2012) & ("Inmigración ilegal en,"). In the 19th century immigrants
were faced with people who would sell them unnecessary things for their voyage and scammed them with false tickets. Though present day immigrants do not facethe same false claims and traps that immigrants in the 19th centuryfaced they did face obstacles in getting to America and that is something that both immigration waves share.
of these immigrants can be taken and held hostage with the purpose of extorting their family members for more money so that they can be released. Both the victims and their family members are being told that if they do not give the “coyote” the money they are asking then they will kill either the immigrant or the immigrant’s family members (Walsner, McNeill & Zuckerman). Immigrants are in danger of being held hostage not only by the person who brought them here but also by the people around them and the infamous group “los Zetas”. Often the “coyote’s” even have officials take the immigrants money and they divide it up
among themselves ("400 mil centroamericanos," 2011) & ("Autoridades migratorias eeuu," 2012). The risks of being sexualy abused by the “coyotes” is also common and has happened
to at least 60% of women that pass through Mexico. Children are also targeted for such abuses. Women often are in dire need of money that when a person offers them a job abroad that seems to be true these women jump at the chance. The problem with many of these offers is that once they arrive in America they are thrown into prostitution and are told they cannot leave until they payback their trip (Walsner, McNeill& Zuckerman) & ("Autoridades migratorias eeuu," 2012) & ("Inmigración ilegal en,"). In the 19th century immigrants
were faced with people who would sell them unnecessary things for their voyage and scammed them with false tickets. Though present day immigrants do not facethe same false claims and traps that immigrants in the 19th centuryfaced they did face obstacles in getting to America and that is something that both immigration waves share.