Tired of the Same
Who are the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free?
By Raul Saldivar
By Raul Saldivar
San Diego County shares its border with Tijuana, making an enormous metropolitan area. With about 5 million people, it is the largest bi-national region in the United States. Given its unique proximity to the border, the region has often been tossed into political debates around immigration. The region’s ties to Mexico are deep and have influenced its culture profoundly. However, its close proximity to the border has also made San Diego a hostile region towards immigrants, although many continue to come here in search for better jobs and a better life.
The Mexican immigrant population is high with 78 percent living in four states, with about half living in California. Nearly 2 million live in Los Angeles, and over 300,000 live in San Diego. Over half of all Mexican immigrants have live lived in 10 places in 2008. Many Mexicans cross over the border to find work so they can help their families living in Mexico. The National Population Council of Mexico estimates that 1 in 10 Mexican families is dependent upon money set from their family living in the U.S. as their primary source of income. Money that is sent from families across the board are the third largest source of income for Mexico, after petroleum and tourism, amounting to between six and eight billion dollars each year, according to the Migration Policy Institute. I wanted to learn more of who these immigrants were. So I asked my mom, who immigrated from Mexico for a better life in the United States, why she came to San Diego. She stated, “The jobs here are better paid than in Mexico. We were poor there, we didn’t have enough money to have an educated life. That was the reason I had to cross over at the age of sixteen.” Jobs held by Mexican immigrants in San Diego often involve construction or landscaping for men and jobs for women usually involves working in housekeeping and stores. One in three immigrants working in San Diego County is a victim of labor trafficking, according to a report funded by the U.S. Department of Justice. Half have suffered labor abuses or exploitation at the workplace. Labor trafficking was defined for the purpose of the study as actual or threatened infringement of freedom of movement or physical violation. The most common violations reported were being given inadequate food or sleep, being forbidden to leave the workplace, and being threatened by their employers with deportation. There are many organizations that work with Mexican immigrants in the San Diego area. Founded in 1977, the U.S.-Mexico Border Program works to secure human rights and self-determination for migrants and border communities by facilitating leadership development, accompanying immigrant communities in their organizing processes, providing technical support and resources, and promoting collective action through human rights committees. The American Friends Service Committee in San Diego supports the growth and development of immigrant-led organizations, through the development of a network of "human rights committees," with the goal of bringing the voices and concerns of immigrant communities into policy debates at the local, state, and national level. Human rights training and documentation of human rights abuses are used to challenge systemic abuses by the Border Patrol and other government agencies. The Statue of Liberty may be in New York, but the message “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” can apply to any immigrant in general, in this case Mexicans. In this San Diegan community, somehow every Mexican family/person has a background related to immigration. We are all in search for better opportunities in life. |