Ameneé Siahpush
Oaxaca, Mexico
Global Workers Justice Alliance (GWJA)
Aggravated by the effects of the recession, or perhaps by the inability to continue ignoring the situation, public concern over immigration has once again taken hold in US national politics. Within this dialogue, there is a common understanding across the political spectrum that the current immigration system in the US is broken, but very little consensus on how to fix it. When we scratch past the surface of immigration reform as it is debated by politicians and legislators, we see individuals and families who are living within this broken system, many for generations.
Meet Maria: She is a single mother of two, living in the tiny town of Santa Rosa, Oaxaca. Her first trip to the US was in 1990, at twelve years old, with her little brother and father. They lived and worked in the countryside of Oregon, side to side with other migrants, primarily from Mexico, but also from parts of Central America. She moved back and forth between the US and Mexico three different times, totaling over 12 years spent working in strawberry, cucumber, and grape farms in the US. Marie never had legal documentation to work in the States, although both of her children were born there.
There are conflicting theories on the unique ways that migration affects women. One common theme is the potential for Mexican women to find empowerment and emancipation through labor migration. By becoming active participants in the labor market, women have gained more control over budgetary and other household decision-making, a process that was traditionally reserved for men. However, other scholars have questioned the equalizing effect of migration on gender relations, as it occurs in the larger context of stratification by race, class, and legal status. In addition, women’s shift into the workforce as wage earners has often meant longer workdays and heavier workloads, as they are now responsible for both outside work and domestic chores. Outside of the home, women are taking on tasks that were once associated with masculinity; however, men are not undergoing an equal reorganization of their own traditional gender roles, and child-rearing and household chores still fall into the laps of women.
Maria confirmed the complexities of migration. Yes, she was able to contribute to her family’s income. Yes, it provided an opportunity to learn English and to know more about the world outside of Oaxaca. And yes, machismo still holds strong in some families, and regardless of whether she was in Mexico or in the US, she was still expected to cook, clean, and raise her children, even after a long day in the fields.
As to be expected, our conversation fluctuated from the benefits of migration to the extreme difficulties and negative consequences of migration on her community. She expressed deep appreciation for the help she had received from the US government to feed her children. And she laughed when remembering how she could barely work during the first few days in Oregon because she was happily frozen in awe of its beauty. We discussed the high cost of living in the US compared to Mexico, the daily fear of being deported without her children, the sad separation of family members living on different sides of the border, and the unforgettable thirst she experienced after waiting for days in the desert to cross into the US. She was pregnant at the time.
Within the recounting of these memories, the conversation always had a way of coming back to the most basic distinction, in Maria’s opinion, between the US and Oaxaca: the reality that jobs just do not exist in Oaxaca. “What will my kids to do for work after they finish school”, she wondered aloud. Maria’s younger brother has also recently returned from the US. Although he’s successfully used his US earnings to build a home for his wife and 2 children, unfortunately his inability to find work in their hometown plays directly into Maria’s fears for her children. “Of course it’s important to protect the human rights of migrants. Migration is especially difficult for women. They get raped, hit, and murdered while trying to make it north. But we also need to create economic opportunities for our people here. And better education for our children. Our children need motivation to study. Right now, what’s the point of going to school if there aren’t any jobs for them afterwards? This is Oaxaca’s biggest need: better education and more job opportunities. Otherwise, despite the risks of rape and the separation of families, heading north will always appeal to us.”