For quite a long time now I have led a bi-national existence in having lived in different parts of Mexico, hailing from New York City and also having been a resident of Chicago. Further, as an international journalist, I have covered quite closely the immigration beat and also in a bi-national way in having reported from both sides of the border.
From those experiences, I have become acutely aware of both the historical realities of U.S./Mexico relations as well as the present-day challenges which in particular, undocumented immigrants in the U.S. face on a daily basis. Not many U.S.-born folks without family ties to Mexico are too conscious and/or aware of the huge impact that its historic expansion by military might has had on Mexico’s development, in sharp contrast to virtually all Mexicans. Just taking the example of California, for instance, is striking. It has long been the 5th largest economy in the world. Yet, it is nearly unimaginable to think how things would be today if only California was still part of Mexico.
Also, the history of the “brazero” movement looms large on the minds of many older Mexicans who do not forget the historic mistreatment of Mexican farm workers in the U.S. and wages that were never paid to them.
That historic mistreatment runs right up to the present as there continues to be no realistic or feasible means of documented immigration for unemployed Mexican laborers. This is in spite of a huge need for more documented means of immigration to be made available to Mexicans having been created by the displacement of countless numbers of agricultural jobs based in Mexico by the devastating effects of NAFTA. Entire Mexican and rural communities often now depend upon remission payments being sent from the U.S. to Mexico. Unsurprisingly then it is one of the largest segments of the Mexico’s economy. Yup, just remission payments alone ranks right up there along with oil and tourism revenues. But this dependency is a co-dependent reality, as was satirized by the Mexican-produced, “A Day Without a Mexican.” Even most U.S.-born folks realize by now just how devastating an impact it would be on the U.S. economy if Mexican undocumented workers all suddenly stopped working in the U.S.
When one has reported on these matters and met the folks most afflicted by the historical and present-day realities of U.S/Mexico relations, you wind up developing a significant empathy and understanding of the incredible and more than justified need for a documented path for the many impoverished Mexicans unfairly forced to look for underpaid labor in the U.S. and often under perilous and life-threatening conditions.
Ironically in the end game, all parties would benefit from such a documented path existing. The lack of such a path only exacerbates further labor exploitation and inequality on all sides which isn’t something that benefits any ordinary worker, whether one is from the U.S. or from Mexico.
Mexico City, Mexico
