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Beatrice Khaiza

Professor Batty

English 101

May 02, 2018

Literacy Analysis Essay: The Challenges Faced by the Illegal Immigrants.

The undocumented immigrants never come out to express themselves freely; they are

scared, they are depressed, they have lost hopes, yet these illegal immigrants will sail their boats

without giving up. Coming from different world sectors, many immigrants will consider a few

famous nations as destinations. These include independent nations like the United States of

America, Britain and Germany. Home is the best, but people immigrate for different reasons.

However, with this immigration, there are two forms: legal and illegal. In many cases, it has been

found that the largest group to face challenges are the illegal immigrants. Some of the

challenges they face include, difficulty speaking the foreign language, having access to services

like security and health, securing jobs, and securing housing. The novel Still Water Saints by

Alex Espinoza should interest most, especially the illegal immigrants. Beyond this limited

audience, however, this point should speak to the policy and law makers and other concerned

authorities of Human Rights, Religious and other Administrators. Problems and dangers are

faced by the illegal immigrants in their foreign countries no matter their situations. Although

some may not be sympathetic, the novel Still Water Saints by Alex Espinoza is a representation

of the issues that illegal immigrants face, which include language barriers, inadequate to no

access to resources, and unemployment.


The core challenge that many immigrants face is difficulty speaking the native language

of the country they have migrated to. Communication is the key to many aspects in life. Many

immigrants who settle in the United States of America, for example, face the problem of

transitioning from their homeland accent and pronunciation of certain words to suit the new

nation they have moved to. This happened to me when I had just come to the United States. The

next day after my arrival, I had to call the immigration office to get my Green Card mailed to

me. I had difficulty speaking with the attendant not because I did not know English, but because

of her accent and pronunciations that impeded my understanding of what she was telling me. I

had to reach out for my mother who has stayed here for quite a long time, so she got through it so

easily. In Espinoza’s novel, the author exhibits this challenge with Rodrigo Zamora, an illegal

immigrant who barely speaks English. Espinoza portrays what many immigrants face, especially

the undocumented ones, experiencing language barrier as a challenge; however, they are still

willing to learn the new languages. Espinoza illustrates this when, ‘’Rodrigo asks Perla to teach

him more English words so that he would be able to talk to his neighbors’’ (Espinoza 1139). As

a matter of fact, English is one of the most common languages used worldwide, yet it is the

second language for many people. Communication is the key for all other activities like

navigation, making friends, and accessing the basic needs, so the immigrants attempt to take

classes for these languages so as to fit in the community. While attempting these classes, there is

yet another problem of denial of access to these resources.

Furthermore, due to lack of communication skills, the illegal immigrants face a challenge

of little to no access to the community resources. These resources include education, security,

health and mental support. Christina Nunez, in her article at www.globalcitizen.org explains how

illegal immigrants experience a lack of opportunities to access resources. Nunez clarifies that
access to these resources requires documentation showing proof of one’s immigration status.

This is a hindrance for many undocumented immigrants that in turn denies them access to the

resources. Nunez illustrates this when she states “The undocumented immigrants have an

especially hard time accessing services largely because they are afraid of being deported.” This

is also observed in Espinoza’s novel when the author reveals how Rodrigo was wounded but

received no health attention, had to learn English from an individual instead of school, and could

not get support from the authorities due to the extended corruption by his kidnapper. The

undocumented immigrants’ desires are being hindered by the massive fear of being caught.

Espinoza also shows this when, “Rodrigo was traumatized by the fear of being caught and killed

by his master, making him insecure” (Espinoza 3014). What is at stake here is that the illegal

immigrants should receive their rights just as any other person. Many countries that are

technologically and economically stable, like America, have restrictions or regulations that guide

every activity, thus making it hard for the illegal immigrants to have access to any available

resources.

In addition to language barriers and little to no access to resources, the illegal immigrants

also face a problem of unemployment. Kirk Johnson and Tom Kane, in their article at

www.heritage.org, discuss the various aspects through which illegal immigrants are being judged

by the natives. Johnson and Kane argue that despite the overflow of this group of immigrants

into foreign countries, they have contributed positively to their societies of residence even

though only their negative effects are being elaborated. “Many illegal immigrants are taken for

granted in their areas of work. Many employers consider eligibility over skills leaving many

illegal immigrants unemployed” (Johnson). In comparison to Espinoza’s novel, a sixteen year

old Rodrigo, who specifically came to the United States to find employment, ends up doing a
risky type of work. He resorts to sex work due to lack of documents that could have supported

him to get at least a better or safer job. Yes, it is true that the immigrants increase competition for

the resources in countries they move to, but on the other hand they also contribute to the

economic development of the country. Since they are undocumented, those who have at least got

jobs are highly penalized by the fact that they are not permitted to work in the countries; many

employers tend to offer low wage opportunities that even require a lot of concentration. They

also work under a lot of pressure which makes them uncomfortable.

Although some people are not sympathetic, Espinoza’s novel creates empathy that people

should reconsider their ways in which they treat the illegal immigrants. In his article, “Illegal

Immigration Foe Counters Sympathy for Targeted Illegals,” McManus John F points out how

President Donald Trump, on his way to inspect samples for the wall he wants to erect to impede

border crossers, brought up the harm being created by some communities — and the state of

California — that have designated themselves as sanctuaries where illegal aliens are welcomed.

He demonstrates this when the President again lambastes California’s Sanctuary City Policy

“California’s sanctuary policies are illegal and unconstitutional and put the safety and security of

our entire nation at risk. Thousands of dangerous and violent aliens are released as a result of

sanctuary policies, set free to prey on innocent Americans. This must stop!” (McManus).When

families are being separated, it is not a great situation. But this seems not a problem for some

people because they feel these illegal immigrants have to take responsibility for their actions

(McManus). I do second the fact that people should be responsible for their actions. However,

this is not possible for the illegal immigrants since they are not granted a chance to lay out their

reasons. I think the correct order would be see or listen, judge, and act. Unfortunately, it is the
reverse where people judge, act without seeing or sometimes thinking through their responses on

the illegal immigrants.

To sum up, it can be concluded that illegal immigrants face many challenges that include

language barriers, denial of access to resources and unemployment. Many undocumented

immigrants experience a challenge transitioning from their native to the foreign language; they

have little to no access to the community resources like health, support from the responsible

authorities, and security; they are only granted low wage or risky jobs due to insufficient

documents rather than being unskilled; they are unsympathetically treated by others. The main

source of these challenges faced by the illegal immigrants is failure to possess the legal

documents that grants them their rights. However, even though it might sound awkward for some

people, I urge the concerned public to give these illegal immigrants a second chance other than

ignoring what they are capable of doing no matter their situation. Countries should increase

security at their borders to reduce illegal immigration. Countries should highlight the

consequences of those who are found smuggling people into these countries in the first place.

This shouldn’t be just a political point, but a step taken to help the undocumented immigrants.
Work Cited.

Espinoza, Alex. Still Water Saints. 2007, Amazon Kindle edition.

Johnson, Kirk and Tim, Kane. “The Real Problem with Immigrants and the Possible Solutions.”

The Heritage Foundation, 1 Mar. 2010, www.heritage.org.

McManus, John F. "Illegal Immigration Foe Counters Sympathy for Targeted Illegals." The New

American, no. 7, 2018, p. 9. EBSCOhost,

library.lavc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsga

o&AN=edsgcl.536534177&site=eds-live

Nunez, Christina. “The Biggest Challenges Facing Refugees and Immigrants in the U.S.” Global

Citizen, 12 Dec. 2014, www.globalcitizen org.

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