NEIGHBOR TO THE SOUTH
BEYOND THE BORDER The perilous plight of Mexicans in the U.S. BY MAYTÉ RODRÍGUEZ CEDILLO AND KARIN LEPERI
The United States has long prided itself on the economic vitality, dynamic diversity, and creative ingenuity of its people – people who have immigrated from all over the world and continue to contribute to the national creative genius of democracy. After all, here in America we are all descendants of immigrants. Unfortunately, our shared border to the south with Mexico has become both a source of controversy and intense dogma, one with an uncontrolled complexity that defies simple solutions. Caught in the vice grip are over 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. Their lives hang in limbo as they straddle chaotic legalities leaving them in a confounding lurch – one without status in a country they have called home for most their lives.
BajaTRAVELER® | 2017 – 2018 | 18th Anniversary
The common thread to this tangled web is the terrible disruption to lives on both
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sides of the border that a vacillating policy brings. It affects those attempting to come to the U.S. illegally and those already in the States as illegal aliens – a term that generally includes undocumented aliens and nonimmigrant visa overstayers. Some have given birth to children while residing in the States illegally. Under the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution, these children become U.S. citizens: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.” In other words, birthright citizenship is a guaranteed constitutional right. Sometimes referred to as anchor babies, some think that the undocumented parents leverage their children’s citizenship so that they may become legal. However, under the young Trump Ad-
ministration, there is no grace granted to undocumented parents – they are being deported with young children left behind. The question becomes how many are involved? According to Pew Research Center, approximately 295,000 babies were born in 2013 to undocumented immigrants, or 8% of the 3.9 million births in the United States that year. Unfortunately, the outcome is that humanity is muffled, strained by the weight of motivated reasoning and fear-based prejudices. Instead of bridging boundaries between the U.S. and Mexico, we erect walls that divide and separate. Whether the barrier is physical from the erection of an actual wall or virtual through overt discrimination and marginalization of a people looking for hope, the deleterious impact on human lives is undeniable.
