JE# 5

What we see occurring at the border in Arizona is the combination of immigrant policy gone askew. The United States has undergone a history of a restrictionist policy and has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of migrants.

One of the interesting points that the article makes is when the reporter is discussing the removal of people from a concept of humanity. She says that through a simple act, people are not sympathetic because they almost deserve death through their act of transgressing the law. This sentiment resonates with Concha’s story of death and separation from her family. The dominant society, be it Mexican or Anglo, were not sympathetic to her people’s death and removal. They were below human and therefore if death came to them, then it was because they deserved it.

Another point that I found interesting was the dividing of families that goes along with the border. The documentary speaks the organization “Missing Migrant Project” that helps families look for their missing relatives. They try to reconnect families to their loved ones, in the same way that Concha sought to reconnect her own family.  Like the project, she would often times not find her family or if she did, she would find remnants of them.

Concha undergoes her own struggles of migration from Mexico to Tucson on foot and does not encounter much opposition to her migrating north whereas in the case now, although the case is much more dangerous. People are purposely funneled into the dangerous areas and therefor left out in the cold, away from any national importance. It’s truly sad to see this occur within the United States, but has to be an important issue discussed in any comprehensive immigration bill.