Labeling people illegal.

Latin American immigrants are the population that is often labeled as criminal because of their appearance. The fact that because they look like they were born in a different country gives some people a "justifiable" reason to assume that they have entered the United States illegally. Immigrants form south of the border regardless of whether they are undocumented or not, they are stigmatized the same. They Thrump has ignorantly said, "they are rapists, and criminals". Other stigmas are that Latin American  immigrants, which usually end up lumped all as being Mexican, are that they are lazy, leach of the government, and are taking American peoples' jobs. 

Referencing material that we have discussed in class the following is a response to a discussion on immigration as we had in class.

             It is interesting to see that undocumented immigrants from Mexico were not an “issue” to American society until the1920s when the U.S decided to police the border. As Mirande (1987) states, prior to the 1920s Mexican labor was at a high demand. Once that demand decreased during the depression, the American people needed a scapegoat and the undocumented population of Mexicans was to blame. By 1929 it was instituted that it was a felony to unlawfully enter the United States. As a result this changed the population of working undocumented immigrants into a population of criminals overnight. The constant surveillance and persecution of undocumented immigrants form Mexico changed the dynamics of undocumented immigrant works in the U.S... It gave power to the law enforcers, business owners and the American people while subjecting the undocumented immigrant to a less than second class citizen status.

            Demand for cheap labor has a big role in how strongly the border is enforced. When the demand for cheap labor is high the border patrol relaxes a little to allow immigrants to enter the country and seek out the low paying jobs. When the demand is low, the immigrant is blamed for the unemployment of the the American population. They are accused of being a public charge and taking all benefits for the American people that “truly” deserve it.  Also,  even though it is illegal to hire an undocumented worker knowingly, business owners and agricultural owners still recruit them for their jobs. They are able to hold the status of “illegal” over their heads and ensure that they will remain in the job with no objections. Raids also play a role in keeping a steady flow of workers, they will go to jobs and deport X amount of workers, just enough to keep the flow and turnover good for the owners.

            Furthermore, there is a constant fear of law enforcement officers among the immigrant community and their reasons of fear are justified. Undocumented immigrants don’t see law enforcement officers as resources of help. Instead, they are seen as people that will abuse and take away everything they have worked for. They are scared that they will be stopped and deported back to Mexico. For many this means separated from family and friends. To others it is the fear of being identified as an “illegal” because their skin is brown. It causes a shame of being themselves, because they are stereotyped as criminals.  This fear causes them to “keep to themselves, stay out of sight, and steer clear of politics” (Parenti. P.149). Enforcing border patrols, raids, using fear and intimidation all create a form of social control. 

            Finally, there are many contradictory stereotypes that just go to show how ridiculous and uninformed we are as a society. For example,the idea that undocumented immigrants can be lazy and take up all the jobs at the same time. The idea that it is “illegal to be an undocumented worker, but not illegal to hire one” makes absolutely no sense to me. Also, the fact that people tend to blame the worker for working and earning a “living wage”—just enough to survive—and  not the people that hire them is insane! Unfortunately, it is the sad truth that many people truly believe some of those stereotypes  and even more frustrating that they don’t see the real issue.

Resource:             

Mirande, Alfredo. (1987) Gringo justice /Alfredo MirandeNotre Dame : University of Notre Dame Press, Chapter 4.