The Reality of Immigration

The article “The US–Mexico Border” and the film A Better Life both show the reality of immigration, but from two different perspectives. A Better Life focuses on the personal journey of an immigrant living in the United States and explores the reasons why individuals choose to come and remain here. While Jacqueline Mazza’s article “The US–Mexico Border” presents statistical data and factual analysis that show who is actually crossing the border, and the realities of immigration. After analyzing both works together, an ethical and moral approach to immigration is to recognize immigrants as human beings who migrate for specific reasons in hopes of improving their lives. Rather than relying on misleading information, society should address the root causes of migration and consider solutions such as temporary work visas or pathways to residency for individuals who have already established lives in the United States.

In the article “The US–Mexico Border,” the author talks about the reality and statistics surrounding Mexican immigrants and border crossing. A lot of the time, we are fed misleading information about Mexican immigrants and how they are crossing the border, and Mazza debunks much of this information. In the article, it states, “From 2009 to 2014, for example, 140,000 more Mexicans left the United States than entered. Today, the net migration rate of Mexicans to the United States is now zero or negative; that is, every year more Mexicans are leaving than coming to the United States” (Mazza, p. 37). Mazza also includes graphs showing statistics on the “Immigrant Population without Authorization: 1990–2015/6,” which indicate an increase in immigrants peaking in 2005, followed by a slow decrease over time. However, these statistics do not include only Mexican immigrants, but all immigrants, and they do not explain how individuals entered the United States. Mazza later explains that many immigrants in the U.S. did not cross the border at all, but instead overstayed work visas, and many came from countries other than Mexico, with the largest number coming from Canada. This evidence shows that solely focusing on the border and specifically Mexico only shows a small part of the big picture. Policy decisions should be grounded in accurate data and the complete picture.

We should be moving from only focusing on border security and wall construction, and look at the reality of how people are staying in the United States and what can be done to help. In Mazza’s article, we see the reality of individuals remaining in the country through overstayed visas. Part of fixing this issue could involve prioritizing visa-tracking systems to reduce overstays or enforcing employer accountability for knowingly hiring undocumented workers. Also, reforming visa programs such as H-1B and H-2B to prevent the displacement of U.S. workers. These programs are getting immigrants to work jobs at a lower wage, which results in the firing of U.S. workers. Many companies also hire undocumented workers and pay them less. However, rather than blaming a specific nationality or the workers themselves, we should focus on fixing the system itself and creating fair labor practices.

As I mentioned at the start, we should also be addressing the reason why people are coming to the US and how they can be supported. The film A Better Life shows us the reality of immigrants. This film follows the story of Carlos, an undocumented father working who is working extremely hard to provide a better life for his son. Carlos is never portrayed as a criminal, but just as a hardworking man, father, and brother with no legal status. Towards the end of the film, we see Carlos and his sister say that they both came here for a reason to create a better life for their children and themselves. His deportation at the end of the film highlights the emotional and moral consequences of enforcement policies. From an ethical standpoint, immigration policy must consider the humanity of individuals like Carlos. Who contributes to society and does not cause harm or break rules on purpose. In relation to the film,  immigration policies should provide pathways to legal status for long-term residents who have built lives, families, and community ties in the United States. Many undocumented immigrants have lived in the U.S. for years, and in some cases, undocumented children have spent their entire lives here. Removing them would likely cause more harm than good, both to them and to the country, as they contribute labor and are not committing crimes. It is important to design laws that recognize people as human beings and consider all aspects of their lives, not just statistics.

Overall, an ethical and moral approach to immigration requires examining all aspects of the issue, not just what is shown in the news. Immigration is shaped by multiple factors that must be considered together to create policies that help rather than harm. The people being affected the most are parents and children who deserve to be treated with fairness and dignity. Everyone is human at the end of the day, and immigration policies should reflect that reality.

Alondra Navarro se gradúa con una doble especialización en Enfermería y Español.