Contestations of Immigrants

Cisneros The Border Crossed Us

Author and contributor Josue David reveals the ongoing public debate over immigration and how it affects American society. The consequences indicate a genuine concern about the country's integrity. He also depicts how difficult it is to obtain US citizenship, particularly if you are a member of a minority ethnic and racial group. In March 2006, the Latino ethnic community and other minority organizations held a major demonstration (LGM) against the US government's strategy against illegal immigration, terrorism, and border protection (Cisneros 254).

A Multicultural Existence and Recognition

A passage that surprises is when the protesters, especially of the Latino race, came out in large numbers to express their grievances along tribal basis (Cisneros 254). If they wanted a multicultural existence and recognition in the US, then they had to use a universal language, which every race or ethnic group would understand. It portrayed LGM, not as a performance of equality among all the inhabitants of America. The protestors also embraced stereotyping of immigrants along racial basis to oppose alienation. When the government tried to create the border because of the risks posed by the immigrants either linguistically or financially, the minority groups retaliated and challenged their existence as citizens (Cisneros 256).

Protests and Racism

They carried out their protests in their ancestral languages by shouting, singing, and waving posters. It showed how ironical it was to advocate for equal treatment and acceptance in America while insisting on accepting to abandon ethnicity and tribalism. The protesters who picketed on the green space also revealed racism, as they did communicate only using Spanish. It was also perplexing to see them get recognized as US citizens through racism and ethnic practice instead of solving the initial differences between immigration and being assimilated as US citizens.

Work cited

Cisneros, Josue David. The Border Crossed Us. University of Alabama Press, 2013.