The Distance Between Us tells the story of a young Hispanic girl (Reyna) who is separated from her parents when they decide to immigrate to the United States. She spends several hard, lonely years in Mexico until her father comes to collect her. And while her story may be common, it is no less heartbreaking than the rest of them. With that said Reyna's story is not the only kind of immigration tale to be told; there are many others, and not all of them may be what you think.
Enter Mauricio. He brought his family to Texas last year after a scare with one of Mexico's drug cartels. However, it wasn't a hard journey across the border for Mauricio, his wife, and three children. Instead, Mauricio is one of the many wealthy Mexicans fleeing dangerous Mexico (by first class, of course) on EB-5 visas. An EB-5 visa requires the holder to either create ten jobs and invest a million USD into the economy (discounts apply in areas with high unemployment).
As someone whose parents came on a similar type of visa (the EB-1 and EB-2, which are more talent based, rather than wealth based), I always found the system grossly unfair. It confused me as to why someone who had loads of opportunity to become wealthy/successful could easily (in relative terms) come to the United States, while those with less opportunities (like Reyna) have to sit on a waiting list for ten-thousand years or sneak in. Sure, wealthy/talented people bring more into the country, but poor people generally have a more desperate need to get in. Look at Reyna's conditions when she lived in Mexico: unsafe drinking water, lack of security, and a dirt floor to sleep on. Compare those to the conditions of the average EB visa immigrant, and it's obvious who needs to be in the States more.
Overall, my opinion on the topic has stayed the same, but I feel by reading the Distance Between Us and the Times article (linked below), I've gained a deeper understanding of poverty, and it's relationship with distance. Poverty causes distance to become greater, while wealth clothes the gap. However, it is possible to overcome these boundaries, you just have to get a little creative...
Overall, my opinion on the topic has stayed the same, but I feel by reading the Distance Between Us and the Times article (linked below), I've gained a deeper understanding of poverty, and it's relationship with distance. Poverty causes distance to become greater, while wealth clothes the gap. However, it is possible to overcome these boundaries, you just have to get a little creative...
This is really interesting, I never realized that people could pay money to be granted access into the United States. I agree with you that is incredibly unfair, but it must be generating some money to help our economy, so it has its benefits.
ReplyDeleteI love how you did a post on the poverty and separation of wealth in an article! I feel that was very important to the book because Reyna always mentioned about her life in Mexico and America dealing with poverty.
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