La migra viene a triumfar
The other day I was told that a friend had been deported by la migra. I had known him for three years — he was the badass dishwasher at my old restaurant job. He had worked there for almost a decade, in the back of the kitchen. He worked hard and never complained. “Asi es la vida,” he would tell me. I always agreed, despite the fact that my life was drastically different from his.
One night he was mopping the floor and the next he was hauled off to jail and, presumably, back to Mexico. I find myself wondering what, exactly, made him deserve this. Granted, he was an “illegal immigrant.” However, he held a steady job in a popular local restaurant for years. He showed up on time. He made a contribution to our society — he did the job that you can hardly hire Americans for. In this Southwest, every kitchen, in every restaurant, is comprised of Latin American workers. They prepare our meals (and they do it damn well) and wash our dishes. They refill our water and bring us clean silverware. And we? We deport them. We send them back home, which is hardly home anymore, with no money and, I imagine, with little sense of pride. They come here to work hard and we disregard them as “illegal.”
It’s easy to forget that these things happen. If I were still living in Northern California, I wouldn’t see it as often as I do here. I wouldn’t even dwell on a concept like “la migra.” Hell, if I hadn’t decided to study Politics and Latin America in undergraduate, I may not even know much about la migra at all.
Yet here I am, learning that someone I considered a friend, a familiar face, someone who made me laugh and smile, has essentially disappeared from my life. In all likelihood, I will never see him again. Why? Because he wasn’t born here. Because his parents weren’t born here.
The border is a vague line that so many cross everyday, with such great difficulty. And I can easily go on, eating my spaghetti and sipping my Cabernet (or Tequila) like nothing is happening around me. But something is happening and it is only now that I cannot ignore it.
The title translates to “La migra comes to triumph.”
11 responses so far
“Because he wasn’t born here. Because his parents weren’t born here.”
No, that isn’t right at all. Hundreds of thousands of people weren’t born here and aren’t deported. Because they went through the proper channels and actually became citizens.
You put “illegal” in quotes as though it isn’t true. Was your friend here with proper documentation? Was he working with proper documentation? Was he paying income taxes?
I bust my ass here in the United States working an underpaying job. I went to college. And I pay taxes. Hell if my hard earned money goes to someone who isn’t paying into the system.
And don’t you dare tell me we don’t see this first hand in New York. Illegal migrant workers pick our crops. Illegal immigrants work in our restaurants here too. Being only an hour and half train ride out of NYC we see tons of different cultures come through our towns looking for work.
…Dutchess of Kickballs latest post…The Sound of Butterflies
This is an extremely hard issue. In Canada we don’t tend to get too much of this in a way that is so tied to one country, but I have American friends who have been deported here too.
But not everyone has a right to be where they want to be.
Very compelling.
Dutchess — I put illegal in quotes because the term is ridiculous — what constitutes illegal? The fact that he was born in Mexico and has
worked her for almost a decade but can’t “become legal?” The system is
built to keep him out. If he were given the opportunity, he would pay
taxes. That isn’t the issue.
And I’m not saying that you don’t see this in other parts of the
country. What I am saying is that it is very common to see it here, so
close to the border. It’s more difficult to ignore deportation when it
happens all the time, in front of your face — When one guy goes home and, without warning, someone busts into his apartment and hauls him off to jail.
Please don’t take this post personally — that wasn’t my intention. I
am trying to bring light to a subject that, I have found, is easy to forget about.
Yikes. Definitely a controversial subject, to say the least. I think we go through phases of who we let in and who we don’t. Latin Americans are at a bit of an advantage because in some ways, it’s easier to get here than others. But I think it’s hard to gauge what’s happening if they have not necessarily gone through the efforts of becoming a citizen and paying the same taxes as everyone else. I think it’s definitely a big issue.
…distracted spunks latest post…I…
I’ll jump in… I find it interesting that people and governments have no problem sending money in/out of a country (the global economy… blah yada blah ya), but when it comes to actual human beings, suddenly the game changes.
If you want proper documentation and accountability, why not track EVERY single dollar. Dutchess of Kickball (awesome name, btw), I’m willing to bet our borders are more porous in NYC than they are in Texas. Follow the money.
…[F]oxymorons latest post…The Bead Musuem (Another Awesome DC Musuem)
Dear Dutchess, who must be spelling her title wrong on purpose?
I was married for seven years to a British citizen, who moved to the US to be with me. We found out first-hand that “the proper channels” take a lot of money and a lot of time, and a lot of bureaucratic adroitness and expertise. We were a completely legitimate married couple, and we were hassled and bamboozled and wrong-footed by first the INS, and then what became “Homeland Security,” every single step of the way. It took all seven years of our marriage to obtain his legal residence–not even citizenry, mind you, just the green card.
I should add that he’d had his PhD in theoretical physics from the University of Cambridge at the age of 23. Hardly a migrant worker–though also East Indian by heritage (Londoner by birth) and, frankly, post-9/11, that really didn’t make our case any easier.
So you’d say to potential Latin American immigrants, “Just go through the proper channels”? Hm. I wonder how well that would work, for people who may not be literate or have legal representation, and who have the color of their skin working against them? It was awfully hard for two people in love who had money, time, literacy, and graduate degrees. I wonder how your own European-immigrant ancestors would have fared, if faced with similar circumstances? And I wonder which of your friends or family members, or mine, would really apply for the job the a.r.w. is describing in her post?
Actually, I don’t wonder at all. I only wonder if we’re ever going to wake up to the fact that undocumented brown US residents do all our dirty work since, because we don’t allow them Congressional representation, they can’t get any civil rights as a result.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/01/opinion/01fri1.html
PS: [F]oxymoron, museum is not spelled “musuem.”
PPS I now get it that “Dutchess” is the correct spelling for a county in NY.
…unreliable narrators latest post…worst. hic.cups. ev.er.
Damn la migra.
I used to work construction when I was younger, they all used to laugh and tell me- No llores, guero.
I dont have a point to that…just wanted to share.
…Matts latest post…Art is art
It happens all the time in Northern California; you were not paying attention.
http://www.immigrantrights.org/
Very sad story. I am sorry for your friend.
There needs to be immigration reform, but the wealthy are not interested in making changes. Such is the American way.
…anas latest post…Angelina
I worry about my cooks, dishwashers and bussers in LA all the time. They were my favorite people to work with at Louise’s, particularly because they were the most upbeat and sweetest people I knew. I remember Caliman (why do they call you that? “because I am Mexican superhero”) told me he worked 3 jobs at 3 different restaurants. I couldn’t bear to ask the weekly hours he pulled.
“When do you sleep?” I asked.
“Tuesdays” he said.
a.r.w. was right to question the “illegality” of such people in the service industries. This is supposed to be a country of opportunity for all, and instead there is opportunity for the pale or the wealthy. Not always the case, I’ll give you that, but more typical for sure. It strikes me as disappointing that more people don’t give credit to these workers (who according to some “steal” our American jobs, nevermind that most “Americans” would never deign to perform these tasks) who work long hours with shit wages for employers who all too often take advantage of the alleged illegality of these workers. Illegal in this case is only illegal because of rigid views of what it means to be a citizen. Don’t even get me started on the asinine concept of borders. The bureaucracy that has been erected around the alarmingly complex rigmarole it takes to become “legal” is clearly beyond Dutchess, who clearly has not conversed at length with someone who has gone through this process. Please appreciate the difficulty and determination it takes to leave one’s country of birth, to enroll in the workforce of a completely new place w/o speaking the language, and to be looked down upon by so many for doing the jobs we would never have to perform.
Incidentally I was envious of Caliman for getting to do the job I wanted to do, but could not afford to do. $10/hr doesn’t compare with salary, no matter how many ways you look at it.
This is interesting. I don’t think people even get the fact that these folks are part of our economy now and we need them.
I was sitting with a bunch of business owners at a beach bar in Delaware this weekend. These men own businesses in NY and up and down the east coast. Their biggest worry is “how are we going to get people to work” The see all their workers being from Latin American Countries or Russia.
These people were saying that the Russians are heavily exploited on the east coast because many are illegal as well yet what happens is they work for a pittance live in hovels and still manage to send their money back to NY for someone in their family to end up buying and owning quite a nice business.
When my friends cousin opened his restaurant 4 years ago they couldn’t get an American to work as a dishwasher, the money was pretty good for an unskilled worker but it was beneath even those who didn’t have a job. Now the guy from El Salvador( Edwardo) who took the dishwasher job 4 years ago is a kitchen manager there making over a $100,000 and owns two small businesses of his own.
These people are here legally but there are others here illegally getting taken advantage of and exploited by people often the exact people who complain about illegal immigration.
For those concerned there are perfectly good laws on the books and have been for years but no administration has ever even tried to enforce them until the last few years when it became a political issue.
It is sad for you and too bad you didn’t have some way to find out where he is.
…coopers latest post…Bella Lunacy