Universidad de Puerto Rico

Recinto de Arecibo

Argumentative Essay: Living of a dream

Honors English 3011-MAO

Jean C Ortiz Calderón

840-11-5568

Living of a dream

“El que no quiere a su patria no quiere a su madre”. Latinoamérica, Calle 13.

Over millions of Latin American people have abandoned their homes and migrated miles

away, abandoning their family and friends, setting aside their very goals and dreams, even

forgetting themselves; all just for the sake of a single dream. What dream is worth a life, what

dream is worth millions of lives? The Latin American masses should be correctly educated

concerning the United States of America social, economical and political situation in order to

have a realistic insight of the American dream.

The American dream has driven over three hundred millions of Latin American people to

migrate to the United States of America, what is this so called American dream? For American

born citizens, the idealization of the American dream is as a better economical and acquisitive

power for their own; nonetheless they feel endangered by the “immigrant threat”, whether

they believe immigrants are criminals or that they will steal their rightfully earned jobs. On the

contrary the many immigrants seek the American dream as a solution to their economical and

political problems, just as Michael Steele appoints in his essay The Kind of Immigration Reform

American Wants: “And the dream [The American dream] is basically this: to work hard, to save

smart, to enjoy the benefits of ownership, and to pass on a legacy of lasting wealth to your

children”. The American dream is an utopia reflecting the needs of those who seek it, and it’s

mostly resolving around economical disputes.

However the economical reality in Unites States is similar to most of the Latin American

countries; therefore there isn’t an economical advantage to sustain the immigration of the

masses. The unemployment rate in USA is about ten percent (10%) against countries such as

Costa Rica with seven percent (7%) rate, Mexico with six percent (6%) rate and so forth. The cost

of life rates is as high in the USA as at the other countries around Latin America. These numbers

as recent as from the 2010 census greatly illustrate the misconception many immigrants have

about the economical situation of their own countries against the US. The experts on economics

Isabel V Sawhill and John E Morton in their article Economic Mobility: Is the American Dream

Alive and Well?, explain that the notion of America as a land of opportunities is coming to a

dawn, mostly because of the inflexibility and inequality on the nation’s economical policies, “…

we are actually a less mobile society than many other nations”.

Some immigrants groups may differ and think that the situation in their countries is

probably worst than in the US, however, how is their situation better in a country where they’re

not welcomed? How can anyone be safe in a country that immigrants are treated like less than

humans, where their rights are stripped and even their families are shattered by means like

deportations? United States of America holds the record for the most deportations of illegal

immigrants now days, against countries with massive waves of immigrants like China, United

Kingdom, and Spain. Consequently, the majority of them, Latinos, lives in constant fear of the

deportations and undergoes a massive amount of stress resulting in severe mental and physical

health problems. And those immigrants who are deported and had their children born in US are

separated from them, without any possible reunion. Also, many illegal immigrants have been

abused in their employments with underpays, excessive hours of job and even without getting

paid. How does the current situation of the Latin immigrants in US reflect the American dream?

The Latin American people must have a clear view of United States social, economical

and political reality to avoid getting caught in the utopia most immigrants have believe in, the

American dream. It is our responsibility as a society to create the necessary tools to become

and surpass the American dream. Because who can live of a dream?

Bibliography

Isabel V Sawhill, John E Morton, Economic Mobility: Is the American Dream Alive and

Well? , Brookings Articles, May 2007.

http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2007/05useconomics_morton.aspx

Steele, Michael, The Kind of Immigration Reform American Wants, Vital Speeches of the

Day; Vol. 76 Issue 7, p303-305, 3p, May 5, 2010, Ebsco Host.com

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=9a8f6579-4bf8-4289-8f93-

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Thematic Map, Unemployment rate, world (This is a statistics site that presents

information visually as in charts, thus there is not an author or a date, however the site

contains trustworthy references) http://www.indexmundi.com/map/?v=74&r=xx&l=en

Sharon R Ennis, Merarys Ríos-Vergas, Nora G Albert, The Hispanic population: 2010

(2010 census briefs), May 2010, Census.gov

http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-04.pdf

Joseph Chamie, Unwanted immigrants: Americas deportation dilemma, 27 July, 2010,

Yale Global Online http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/unwanted-immigrants-americas-

deportation-dilemma