Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Professor Batty
English 101
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
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
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
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
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
To sum up, it can be concluded that illegal immigrants face many challenges that include
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.
Johnson, Kirk and Tim, Kane. “The Real Problem with Immigrants and the Possible Solutions.”
McManus, John F. "Illegal Immigration Foe Counters Sympathy for Targeted Illegals." The New
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