As a nation known for wealth and abundance, The
United States is often a choice destination for underprivileged immigrants in
search of an improved life. Because of its very close proximity to the United
States, many Mexican citizens leave their home nation in hopes of finding work
opportunities. As depicted in Alex Rivera’s short film, The Sixth Section, once Mexican immigrants arrive in the United
States they work extremely long hours, often doing strenuous or difficult work
that most U.S. natives avoid doing. Rivera follows a group of Mexican
immigrants, known as Grupo Union, within the town of Newburgh, NY. The group
spends the majority of their time toiling for long hours and minimal pay, in order
to sustain themselves and their families that they had left behind in Mexico.
The money sent from the Grupo Union to their families in Mexico is defined
remittances.
Remittances play a significant role within the
Mexican economy. Due to a lack of monetary opportunities, funds sent from
immigrants back to Mexico works as an important economic stimulant. Many
families depend on remittances as there sole source of income. Within The Sixth Section, a portion of the
money earned by the Grupo Union was used to build baseball stadium within their
small hometown. The recreational building benefited the entire community, and
helped revamp the economy and spirit of a desolate town.
Determined to better the lives of both their
families and themselves, Mexican immigrants tirelessly work demanding jobs. As
a result of many of these immigrants being undocumented citizens, the compensation
they receive, as well as the working conditions they encounter, are simply
unjust. Despite these facts, many immigrants persevere through their
situations, determined to improve the living conditions of their families and
communities. As a first-generation American, I believe that there should be a
path towards citizenship for immigrants seeking a better life. Often willing to
do tedious or unappealing work, I believe that immigrants should be welcomed to
our country to an extent. As a “Nation of Immigrants”, immigrants should be gladly
received, rather than demonized and unfairly criticized.
Do you think (knowing what we do from the semester) that it was fair to the U.S. economy to have people living in the United States that were sending money home( out of the United States) and lowering the amount of capital that was being spent here? I ask this because we talked a lot about how Hispanics have helped the economy with their spending in the U.S. but we did not talk much about them taking away and sending money out of the U.S. and contributing less to the overall economy.
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ReplyDeleteGrupo Union is a great example of transnational ties. Imagine how much more they could have done for their town if they were all able to visit frequently? Transnational ties are very important to many countries. Many rely on remittances for their economies to survive. Let's hope that in the future, hard-working immigrants like those in Grupo Union will have the ability to become citizens.
I agree with you that immigrants should be given some sort of path towards citizenship. Immigrants come to this country to live a live better than the ones they had in their native country since there are job opportunities. Many come with their families or leave them behind in their native country, and work hard and long hours for minimal pay in order to support their family that may be with them or back home. Majority of American’s believe that immigrants come and steal their jobs but that’s not the case, they all come for one thing and that is to live a better life than they have. They work whatever job that comes their way, jobs the average American thinks is too beneath of them, and get paid minimal. Remittances are sent back home and are usually what that person’s family depends on, like the example you gave of the Grupo Union and how they helped their small hometown by sending them the money they earned.
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