Essay Example on Elvira's Story: An Immigrant's Journey for a Better Life

Introduction

Elvira Arellano is a Mexican citizen who has spent all her life in Mexico. Growing up, she experienced various difficulties living in Mexico. They share a small house with her family members, and her mother and father have low waging jobs that support the whole family. After getting pregnant, Arellano decides to move to the United States with the hopes of giving her unborn child a better life. Having lived in Mexico her entire life, she knew it was not safe for her child to grow up in such a country due to high crime rates, drug trafficking, unemployment, poverty, and climate hazards that bring about a shortage of water. The high crime rates exposed small children to the danger of losing their lives.

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Additionally, the government did not protect the citizens since they were under the influence of the drug cartels who were running the cities and towns. Further, these drug cartels extorted people for money with the pretext of providing security to the citizens. Arellano also wanted to escape from poverty and unemployment that was apparent in her country. Her journey to the United States was not that easy. She faced shooting at the border by the cartels who did not want people to migrate from Mexico to the United States. Through all the troubles of the journey, she managed to get the immigration camps at the border safely with her unborn child.

Border Camp Struggles

Upon reaching the immigration border, Arellano added her name to a book that contained the names of other immigrants who had the hopes of entering the United States. The change of immigration policies only allowed a few immigrants into the country; therefore, Arellano knew it would take a few months before she entered the United States, but she was determined and willing to wait for as long she could. Being in the Southern border of the United States, the number of immigrants had gradually increased, forcing it to get the label of a national crisis. The President of the United States, Donald Trump, refused to sign bills funding from the federal government to take care of the immigrants on the southern border. He further built a significant barrier that prevented foreigners from entering the United States without the asylum request.

Maternal Health Challenges

Arellano being both pregnant and an immigrant, faced several challenges in the United States, especially maternal health problems faced by various pregnant immigrant women in the United States. Arellano experienced high blood pressure if continued would lead to her having a cesarean during delivery. High blood pressure mostly comes due to increased stress; in this case, Arellano became stressed due to the various challenges faced in the camps and also after entering the country. Most of the pregnant Mexican immigrants undergo the same problems, which can lead to maternal health problems to both the unborn baby and the mother. Several factors can bring stress to pregnant immigrant women, such as employment status, social instability, and other pre-existing health conditions. It becomes difficult to secure an excellent job in the United States, especially if you entered the country illegally with no documentation. Most of these Mexican immigrants offer cheap labor and work in low paying jobs that cannot afford health insurance covers.

Impact of Social Conditions

Additionally, these immigrants live in highly congested communities and poorly constructed houses. These communities have poor drainages and adequate health care facilities. Such social instabilities faced by pregnancy can cause complications to both the child and the mother. These communities, due to congestion and lack of healthcare amenities, cause health problems to the unborn child and can also bring complications during childbirth. However, the political climate significantly affects pregnant immigrant women in the United States. Experiencing certain stresses while pregnant can lead to anxiety and depression, which in return affects the unborn baby's health. Arellano also admits that low paying jobs can affect the unborn together with the baby since the mother cannot afford the insurance cover of regularly visiting the hospitals for check-ups during pregnancies. Most pregnant immigrant women face challenges with a lot of problems in their pregnancies since they lack access to proper health care. In this case, Arellano took several months in the camp border before getting permission to enter the country; therefore, she did not receive proper prenatal care while in the camp, and that might have affected the unborn baby.

Political Climate and Uncertainties

Among other challenges, Arellano faced political difficulties in the United States. With the continued change of governmental policies, Arellano was no safe in the United States with her baby. Donald Trump has enforced policies concerning the immigrants in the country. A child born by an immigrant in the United States receives citizenship by birth, according to the fourteenth amendment. President Donald Trump wants to revoke the bill by refusing immigrant children to acquire citizenship by birth. Many of the immigrants enter the country legally through a tourist visa gibe birth and then return to Mexico to raise the kid. Giving birth in the United States provide the child duo citizenship, and allows him/her to come back to the country later. The policies aim at reducing congestion in the distribution of resources.

Potential Separation

Moreover, Arellano has the possibility of facing separation from her child at one particular time while living in the United States. For instance, during the 1930 Great Depression, many Mexican immigrants got separated from their children. The economic depression affecting the country led to many immigrants getting deported to their countries either by voluntary, coercion, or forceful deportation. However, children who had American citizenship were left in the state and got taken to foster care where they would grow up. Another economic depression that required the deportation of immigrants brought the possibility of Arellano getting separated from her child Arellano faced the danger of getting separated from her child.

Conclusion

Despite the challenges faced by Arellano, she was determined to get to the United States. She was sure getting to the country would give her unborn child a better life. America is an economically developed country that offers better opportunities for the people living there. In this case, Arellano would get a better paying job that would support both her child and the family she left back in Mexico. Her child would get a better education that would open more opportunities while seeking for jobs later in his/her life. The healthcare amenities in the United States would ensure a healthier living for both her and the child. Arellano confirms that despite the change of policies that would limit citizenship, she would still have come to the United States to give her unborn baby a better life than what she had back in Mexico. America has better opportunities for its people compared to Mexico, which gets characterized by insecurity, drug trafficking, and political instability.