Living
in Oaxaca was hard. Up in the morning, work in the fields or the local
multinational factory for 32 cents a day, sleep, and then up to do it again.
She had to find another way. The latest trade agreement meant that the local
businesses that were the lifeblood of her small town just faded away. It almost
seemed to happen overnight, and now there was next to nothing left. Surely
nothing for her. She made a plan to make her way to the border – she had heard
that crossing was harder now, but she had to try. She heard there were coyotes
for hire, and that, if you found a good one, you could get across. If you found
a bad one, well . . . she knew well the saying hay muchos huesos
en el desierto –
there are many bones in the desert. She was ready to take the risk.
She
kept having strange and unknown feelings in the morning, like she was going to
get sick. She didn’t know why. Probably that multinational water she had been
drinking. She didn’t think anything of it when she started her journey to el
Norte.
By
the time she reached a small town just south of the border, the morning
feelings were getting worse. The women in Oaxaca would know what to do, would
know what this sickness was. But they were miles away. She pressed on. She was
unaware of the tiny child slowly taking shape in her belly.
1) Provide demographic information regarding
the number of individuals who enter the United States each year unlawfully from
ALL parts of the U.S. (South of the border, North of the border, and those who
are smuggled into the US in other ways). Where are they from? Why do they come?
2) What is a coyote? What are the risks associated with such individuals?
3) What
are the threats to typical development that are present in the prenatal stage?
1) The number of immigrants that enter the Unites States unlawfully from all over the world in 2010 was 516,992 (Department of Homeland Security, 2011). The number of immigrants that enter the Unites States illegally from North American countries was 495,209 (Department of Homeland Security, 2011). The number of immigrants that enter America unlawfully from South America in 2010 was 7,542 (Department of Homeland Security, 2011). The number of individuals that enter the United States illegally from Mexico in 2010 was 427,940 (Department of Homeland Security, 2011). Most people immigrate to America to seek economic opportunity or health care (“Illegal immigration statistics”, 2012).
ReplyDelete2) A coyote is the name used for a smuggler that helps illegal immigrants cross borders. These coyotes are known for having successful track records for helping illegal immigrants avoid getting caught while crossing into America. Coyotes come along with a very high fee, (especially now, that they are in very high demand) that is usually paid once the illegal immigrant reaches American soil and is picked up by someone they know. There are several different ricks associated with using coyotes. You never know whether you were going to get a good one, and successfully make the trip to America, or a bad one, and get killed along the way. Even if you successfully make it to America, using a coyote could be dangerous. The U.S. has border checkpoints in which these illegal immigrants may be asked for documentation to verify their American citizenship. These enforcements are becoming stricter every day (‘Illegal immigration from mexico’).
3) Threats to prenatal development include cocaine, amphetamines, nicotine, alcohol, smoking prescription medications, diet of the mother, age of the mother and health of the mother (Thompson, Levitt & Stanwood, 2009).
References:
Illegal immigration from mexico. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.usimmigrationsupport.org/illegal-immigration-from-mexico.htmlIllegal immigration statistics. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.illegalimmigrationstatistics.org
Thompson, B., Levitt, P., & Stanwood, G. (2009, March 11). Prenatal exposure to drugs:effects on brain development and implications for policy and education. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2777887 United States. Department of Homeland Security. Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2010. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Immigration Statistics.