Illegal Smuggling on the Mexican Border

For Kirsten's discussion, she chose the article "The Business of Human Smuggling on the Mexican Border." Although I did enjoy reading this article and having a classroom discussion, there were a few points I tried to make that I feel weren't taken very seriously. Luckily we have things called blogs where we can post whatever we feel like or simply want to say on the internet!

I have been visiting the Blue Plate restaurant ever since I was born (my grandparents seem to be the local celebrities there). When I was a small child, my grandma introduced me to one of the cooks, Luis. He was a very nice man despite the fact that he barely spoke English. My grandma told me that he had a daughter the same age as me living back in Mexico with the rest of the family.

"Why does he live here grandma?" I questioned
"Because he needs to make more money for himself and his family," she replied.

Her answer didn't help. I still had my questions--like why would he move to America? What's so great about it? Can't he just work in Mexico closer to his family? The answer is no. America has more job opportunities and also better wages. Mexico is plagued with poverty in virtually every town. They can't make as much money, and they have to worry about surviving every day. For many, moving to America is their only hope. Their sole intention is to work hard for their families and return once they have enough money.

I'm pretty sure that most people and government officials think otherwise. Yes, it is illegal to smuggle oneself over here, but the Mexicans don't have bad intentions in mind. In fact, if they get caught committing crimes they'll likely get in loads of trouble. I think that we shouldn't be so hard on them, given the tough life they've had to live. They're going to have our minimum wage and hard labor jobs no matter what the rules are, so we should try to make them a little more fair and give them a better opportunity.

I have also worked at Buffalo Wild Wings for two years and gotten to know the cooks very well. They're all so nice and friendly--and they also do not seem to have the intention to harm anyone. I'm very close friends with some of them and I'd hate to see anything bad happen to them. Many have moved from Mexico to support their families--some are just teenagers who moved here by themselves to make money for their parents even! I can't believe all of the harsh things that I hear being said about my friends; it's not fair to make such an unfair judgement unless you get to meet one.