J.E. #5

What is happening on the Arizona border is the prime example of the neglect foreigners, "foreigners," face when coming to inhabit a new geographical place. It's interesting to see how these people who enter the country "illicitly" try so hard to gain access to the land that was once theirs and how the people who currently live in that land exclude them in such a cruel and reckless way. Not only are these people displaced from their native land, they are looked down upon when they try to reintegrate themselves to a society that has taken over what was once theirs. 

While there are a lot of similarities in regards to how these "illicit" immigrants are treated in the place they migrate to, the overarching differences lie in the legislation of contemporary times. There were no laws in Concha's time period that prohibited her from re-entering her home land; that knowledge was innate. The article on the Arizona border states that, "around the globe, it’s clear that economic disparity, political instability and harsh immigration policies are a combustible mix — one that plays out tragically along national borders." Whereas in the book, Alcalá says the Opata were "no longer owners of their own rancherias, since they had no papers to prove such things, but as hired hands on the same land" (5). Even though there are differences in these peoples' oppression, ultimately what connects the two texts is the exaltation of oppressive systems perpetuated by those belonging to the dominant society.