Verified Document

Stars Always Shine Salvador Campos: Reflections Of Essay

Stars Always Shine Salvador Campos: Reflections of an Illegal Immigrant

The United States is essentially a nation of immigrants. Very few people can trace their ancestry back to the Native American tribes that were here prior to European conquest. Yet, now that we have an idea of what an American is, we are denying the right to immigrate to new generations of people who wish to tap into the American Dream. This is the case witnessed by Salvador Campos, an illegal immigrant who is living on StarRidge Ranch in California in Rick P. Rivera's novel Stars Always Shine. Salvador's experience embodies what many immigrants have seen and felt over the years, he wants to become an American citizen. Essentially, he does not like that he is technically breaking immigration laws by working and living in the United States undocumented. However, he has little choice, as there are no clear avenues to bring to his goal of citizenship that are readily available to him because of his background as having spent most of his life in Mexico. There are little offers for help from the American community, who tend to see him as an outsider, which in many ways he is because of the language and cultural gaps that separate him and isolate him from the majority culture living in the United States. Today, there is more available help for undocumented immigrants, yet many are still plagued by racist undertones which impose extreme restrictions on helping immigrants assimilate into American life.

Salvador's experiences...

Most immigrants who migrate to the United States from Central and South America echo Salvador's own reasons. Many immigrate from Central and South American in the hopes of finding a better chance at life through making more money to help provide for them and their families. Securing a better future has always been part of the American experience, and it is one which continues to drive the experiences of immigrants flooding into the United States today. There is a notable case of Arnaldo Calderon, an American Marine. In a 2006 interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, he stated "My mom was an illegal immigrant. She wanted me to have a better future," (Johnson 1). Moreover, many of today's immigrants are still facing extreme difficulties in finding help from the American political system in terms of providing for them viable solutions towards citizenship. The 2006 article from the San Francisco Chronicle illustrates how many immigrants coming to the country illegally want to follow the laws of the United States, yet there is not middle ground or compromise for them to be able to reach their dreams without living here illegally. Arnaldo's mother quoted "When you come to another country, you have to respect that country and its laws," says one Guatemalan immigrant according to the 2006 article (Johnson 1). Yet, without options to move here legally, many are forced to try their luck at immigrating illegally in order to secure greater work opportunities…

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited

Johnson, Jason B. "Serving His Country, Becoming a Citizen: Marine Knows From Experience the Immigrant's Struggle." San Francisco Chronicle. 16 Jun 2006. Web. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/06/19/MNG48JGEAS1.DTL

Unger, Stephen H. "The Immigration Struggle: Defending Arizona." Columbia University. 16 May 2010. Web. http://www1.cs.columbia.edu/~unger/articles/arizona.html
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Arizona Immigration Law SB1070
Words: 2391 Length: 6 Document Type: Term Paper

Arizona Immigration Law SB1070 This work in writing examines Arizona's SB1070 Immigration Law and how this law has impacted the state of Arizona, the citizens of Arizona, and the U.S. In its entirety as well as the conflicting views on SB1070 and seeks to determine is SB1070 is adherent to the tenants of federal immigration law. Arizona Immigration Law SB1070 The objective of this work in writing is to briefly explain Arizona's SB1070

Arizona Immigration Law Is One
Words: 2336 Length: 8 Document Type: Term Paper

The hypothesis that certain black persons viewed racism as an all round phenomenon that occurs in many forms was tested. Other black persons viewed and experienced racism in many other different ways. This suggested that the act of racism is more in the mind of the specific victim than the actual fact in the objective reality. This highlighted out the fact that if white individuals were in the same

Constitutionality of Arizona Immigration Law SB 1070
Words: 2521 Length: 8 Document Type: Research Paper

Arizona SB 1070 On January 13, 2010 Senator Russell Pearce, representative of District 18 in Mesa, introduced Senate Bill 1070 which stated as it's intent to make attrition through enforcement the public policy of the state of Arizona. In support of this goal, the state would seek to enforce all federal immigration laws in an effort to deter "the unlawful entry and presence of illegal aliens and economic activity by illegal

New Arizona Immigration Law Raises
Words: 620 Length: 2 Document Type: Article Review

Though the specter of racism will continue to underscore the current controversy, many Democratic politicians will avoid making such strong accusations at such an early stage. The mid-term elections are approaching and the Democrats want to preserve or increase their thin majority in Congress. The Democrats are poised to achieve important objectives such as financial regulation and energy policy in the coming year. An eruption of racial tensions at this

Arizona's New Immigration Law Is a Fundamental
Words: 715 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

Arizona's new immigration law is a fundamental violation of the principles of the Civil Rights Act of 1994, and existing federal non-discrimination legislation. The law enables police to randomly stop and demand proof of citizenship from people who the authorities think are illegal aliens. This law will obviously have a disproportionate impact upon individuals of non-white heritage, particularly Hispanics. The law "would make the failure to carry immigration documents a

Arizona the Federal Preemption of
Words: 1388 Length: 5 Document Type: Research Paper

They point out that neither the Constitution nor the Supreme Court has precluded the States or localities from enforcing the criminal provisions of immigration law. Because the enforcement of the criminal provisions of Federal Law has not been expressly prohibited by the Constitution, it would be reserved to the states respectively. According to the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution,

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now