Both novels gives us a look into the border politics and immigration techniques that the central characters are faced when crossing the threatening harsh deserts in search for a better opportunity and life for themselves. The single notion of opportunity is a major theme in the stories. Like The Guardians, the Devil's Highway gives us a look at the illegal crossings that many immigrants experience and their use of the Coyote system to get across is key in understanding how the United States has many laws in place to prevent these people from coming over.
Coyotes are people who smuggle illegal immigrants into the United States. Like any other illegal system or illegal dealings, there are risks that one must take. You have to put you trust into someone that you do not know. You have to trust that whatever you do will ultimately help you and these things are not guaranteed. The men in the Devil's Highway put their trust in the Coyotes that are "helping" them cross over into the United States. Obviously there are some risks and the story proves this. The coyotes themselves get lost on the trail, does not inform the guys and take another route. Some of the men lost their lives and others were very close to death. Parallel with this, The Guardians shows how the Coyotes took Gabo's mother's life when crossing the desert. Rafa, Gabo's father is missing as well as he is crossing the border.
The problem I have with both stories is not of the illegal crossings, or the loss of lives on the desert; but the United States' harsh immigration laws, and the strenuous process of gaining citizenship. In one scene in the Guardians, Regina is talking to her mother and she is telling her how great it would feel to get her papers. To solidify her citizenship by getting her papers is the ultimate dream. She says this is how she knows she is a real person. That was very sad for me because as for me being a citizen of the U.S. already, I do not relate to not having proper identification. I do not have to apply for a visa to stay in the U.S. This whole situation of immigration and the process of gaining citizenship is a frustrating and harshly exhaustive process. I am glad we are able to talk about this issue and that it is being talked about throughout my classes and throughout the school. Now I can only hope to make some impact in more than just ways of discussion, but actually putting plans together to help people get through this process much easier.
The role of Coyotes definitely stuck out to me as I was reading The Guardians and The Devil's Highway. I found it intriguing that they are so clearly recognized as criminals - the terms 'coyote' and 'pollero' and even the self-referential 'gangster' all attest to the view of them as scavengers – but that so many people do put their trust (or at least their money) in them. One of my sources for presenting on the Guardians was actually fairly positive in its description of coyotes and mentioned that the sheer number of people who have managed to enter the US with their help attests to their trustworthiness, or at least their efficacy. The Devil’s Highway showed some of the grey area surrounding coyotes, which I was grateful for, but their very existence seems so paradoxical.
ReplyDeleteI also feel extremely sad about Regina not feeling like a real person until a piece of paper told her so. What are we taught in school and at home? That no one can tell you who you are - you must find out for yourself. Only you know who you are.
ReplyDeleteI feel that immigration policies intrude upon the journey of finding oneself. Shutting people out from this country, from opportunity, from family, is harmful, hurtful, and sad. Each day I forget the privileges that I have due to my legal status.
It is a shame that a piece of paper can have the power to tell us who we are.
When you began to talk about coyotes, I thought it was an intriguing idea, and I would agree with your statements. When people trying to cross the border begin to put their trust in men that are only in the business for money, then things get sticky. The coyotes stop seeing the men as humans, and, as in indicated from the Devil's Highway, they are seen as chickens, to be rounded up, and even left to die if needed. I think it is a terrible injustice, but one that is present and needs to be addressed more than it is in mainstream media.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said about the exhaustive (and somewhat excessive) process of applying for and receiving papers for a temporary work permit or permanent social security card in order to live and work in the U.S. I wrote my blog about how these papers can sometimes identify who people are as individuals, which I believe is backward thinking.
ReplyDeleteWhen I traveled to Europe two summers ago with a choir, our trans-Atlantic flight landed in Amsterdam, Holland. After we left the plane we headed toward the gate that officially allowed us to enter the country. Going through customs was easy-all security had to do was look at our passport and stamp it, and we were through! Returning to the U.S. three weeks later, though, was a much bigger process as we had to wait for at least an hour to get through customs questioning. The line was even longer for visitors who were not citizens.
Even though some other countries have harsh immigration policies, I wonder if the U.S. could adapt policies from elsewhere that were more effective? Sometimes using policies that have been tested can work more efficiently.
You do a great job of showing how both books compliment each other in revealing the hardships and dangers of border crossing for those without documents. Those of us who are citizens of the USA take these documents for granted, but they are nonetheless vital parts of who we are in terms of how we can function in the world--a US passport is refused in very few places and a social security number enables us to accept any job we have been offered in this country. Just a note on genre--The Guardians is the novel (fiction), The Devil's Highway is non-fiction, though it uses some of the techniques of a novel, such as dialogue and description, to help the reader feel what's going on.
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