Tuesday, December 7, 2010

The Rio Grande: A dream divider

I don't want to go on being just a root in the shadows,
vacillating, extended, shivering with dream,
down in the damp bowels of earth,
absorbing it, thinking it, eating it every day.

-Pablo Neruda from 'Walking Around'
Illegal immigration has been known as a problem between the United States and Mexican border. The borders are impenetrate separations. The Rio Grande a river raises in the San Juan Mountains in Colorado, flows south to El Paso, Texas. It then goes all the way east, to empty into the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately, illegal immigrants take riskier routes crossing to the Unites States. The Rio Grande a dangerous river illegally had been crossed by fearless immigrants. Crossing the Rio Grande can have positive and negative effects.
Although a responsibility of the federal government, Mexican consulate can play a legitimate role in providing support to illegal immigrants. The McAllen, Texas Mexican Consulate oversees cases from Hidalgo, Starr and Brooks County of illegal immigration. The Mexican Consulate is an official branch of the government that operates offices in foreign countries to provide services to its citizens when dealing with U.S. laws and legal system issues.  According to the McAllen consulate they handle 67 bodies in 2008, compared to 39 in 2007 from the Rio Grande. The percentage of death immigrants increased a 40%. Death bodies of desperate Mexicans and Central Americans pursuing dreams disappear daily underneath the river.
  
All along the Rio Grande, smuggling of immigrants creates a situation of lawlessness and dangerous. Blas Nunes from “Border Security: Barriers along the US International Border” reported; “Operation Rio Grande, launched in February 2006 to augment the efforts of Operation Linebacker, pools resources from various local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, increasing law enforcement’s presence of the border.” Successfulness improvements in borders safety consequently reduce illegal immigration.
Millions of immigrants cross the river illegally, unfortunately unsupervised. Mexican immigrants expresses their despair, “Prefiero morir que seguir con la misma miseria que tengo aqui” meaning, “I will die than to keep living under the miserable conditions I live in.” Better economic opportunities, produces the migration of people. The United States attracts people from all over the world like a strong magnet. The U.S. was known as the land of opportunities where immigrants achieve the American dream.
Undocumented Mexicans and Central Americans who cross the Rio Grande illegally are known as “wetbacks.” They are called “Mojados” which means wetbacks and also means economic refugees who crossed over the Rio Grande. There are three classes among the Mojados; people who swam across the river with a guide, people who swam across the river with a guide along a safe route, and those who couldn’t afford to pay a guide and found the way by themselves, some drowning along the way. The irony of history, in the 19th century, Americans and Texans slaves crossed the river seeking freedom. Today, Texans mayors oppose on building fences along Mexico, deepen and widen the Rio Grande became the solution.
How U.S. citizens, the free thinkers of the world, consider the idea of shutting down illegal immigrants in such devious way? Widening the Rio Grande won’t deter human smuggling into the Unites States. The project estates the personal sentiments towards illegal immigration issue; don’t care if they die, just as long they never make it. Michael Macias from MBC 23 News indicated; “the percentage of deaths among illegal immigrants crossing through the Rio Grande Valley has double in one year.” Hopefully in the future people take inconsideration the higher percentage of people dying in the Rio Grande. The increase of border patrols agents with over 2,300 in the Rio Grande Valley is intended to create terror among illegal immigrants, stop them from migrating illegally under unsafe conditions.


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