Global warming? The economy? Health care? Weapons? Which of these questions should we focus on most? All of these are issues that the United States is currently facing and have been prevalent in recent years. Yet one issue that has been raised, and perhaps not always at the forefront of the news, but has been recently, is the “question” of immigration. Immigration has been hotly contested in all its facets, from our politicians in Washington talking about its policies, to speeches about zero tolerance, to our leaders implementing immigration bans. It goes without saying that immigration is a hot commodity and the opinions that come with it can be misconstrued, erroneous, and at times may truly reflect an unfair portrayal of immigrants and the immigration process as a whole . However, misinterpreted and misguided, it is important to highlight and note the intimidating and grueling process that immigrants undergo, as well as other elements of immigration like determination, family separation and security. employment that many of these immigrants go through to arrive in a country where they want to succeed. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayAccording to Merriam-Webster, an immigrant is someone who "comes to a country to establish permanent residence." “Many immigrants who come to the United States are looking for opportunities to improve their lives and lifestyle, not only for themselves, but also for their families. However, to achieve this, they must sacrifice themselves and go through a process that would not be desired by almost every other person on this planet. This is seen in the book Enrique's Journey. In the book, we see the story of a young Central American child who details the life of an immigrant through a lens that perhaps few people are familiar with. In Enrique's Journey, Enrique's mother notices early on that she won't have enough money for her children to excel, much less have enough money for their survival as well as her own. She therefore decides to move to the United States to earn money and be able to send part of this money to her children; Enrique and Belky. When Lourdes, Enrique's mother, arrives in the United States through a sewer tunnel and has been there for a while, she realizes that the image she had in her head of the United States is not It wasn't the one she really had. life. In the United States, Lourdes shares an apartment with three other ladies and has to sleep on the floor. Her job is in a factory, where she sorts tomatoes for $14 a day. These conditions are clearly far from ideal, and the situation only gets worse after she is fired from her job at the factory. Like the average person, not just an immigrant, Lourdes has jobs to overcome for her layoff and works in a pizzeria and a bar, while pregnant. When she disappears, the situation does not improve because she ends up as a “filera” because her boyfriend takes all the savings and in turn has to abandon his apartment and his car. Lourdes rents a garage riddled with leaks and containing only one mattress for her and her baby. To pay her rent and send some money home, she is now responsible for cleaning houses, as well as working on the side at a gas station and a candy factory, all adding up to over 10 hours of work per day with 2 hours of sleep. Lourdes isthe perfect example of an immigrant who faces adversity again and again, adversity that one might have expected, but not in the waves she faced. Nonetheless, Lourdes took jobs that would allow her to send money back to Honduras and took jobs that did not pay her much, such as at a candy factory, which paid her only $2. 25/hour. The idea that immigrants don't help, wreak havoc, and aren't needed is quite ironic, especially considering the jobs most of them do. Few people like Lourdes would willingly work 10-hour shifts and hold multiple jobs that don't pay well, but that's generally what life as an immigrant is like. Their lives are usually filled with sacrifices for the sake of their families and themselves and holding jobs that few Americans would ever want to have, but they are vilified for not following the good way. However, the opportunity immigrants hope for only comes when they are actually in the United States, and even then, as we saw in Lourdes, it is difficult to continue and succeed. Enrique quickly learned that the life of an immigrant is extremely deteriorated and brutal, and that to get to the United States, an arduous task awaits him. Enrique leaves with $57 and a change of clothes for the United States. According to Nazario, 48,000 children from Mexico or Central America enter the United States illegally for reasons ranging from family reunification to fleeing violent homes. She also mentions that although the average age of many of these migrants is 15, she says it's not surprising to see children as young as 7 embarking on this excruciating journey. Despite this, Enrique undertook this journey at the age of 16; a time when we continue to develop and discover our strengths and weaknesses. Age was just a number to Enrique, however, as he faced the challenge of finding his mother head-on. It was on his sixteenth birthday that he decided to board a train for the first time with his friend José. Once they arrive in Mexico, they are both robbed and arrested by police, then deported shortly after. This is not a surprise since Nazario explains that the Mexican police are very corrupt because they frequently stop trains in order to beat/rob/demoralize migrants. She goes on to say that sometimes they even kidnap for ransom. Enrique experiences this a total of 8 different times. Yes, 8 times, all a little different, but with one similarity: the fear of beatings/thefts/expulsion. On the road, the worst beatings took place after his expulsion while he was arrested in the cemetery. On the trains, Enrique was attacked and severely beaten by gangsters. The gangsters then stole his clothes and money. In the establishment where Enrique ends up being treated, we learn that every month, at least 10 migrants fall from the train and their limbs are completely mutilated because of the train wheels. Furthermore, we learn that most of them are being treated because of the damage caused by gangsters; will show the dangers these young adults take. It's incredible. The last part of his journey to get to the United States was probably the most difficult because he had to accept the fact that in Chiapas he was going to have to go through La Arrocera, known for having bandits and for having people who look down on Central Americans because Mexicans believe they bring disease and crime, while believing they are unqualified for certain jobs. Fortunately for Enrique, he passes the Arrocera and heads towards the United States. Despite a temperature of more than.