America's Ethnicity History

Santos Garcia, 35,   and Marcelina Profecto, 33, had six children together and were farmworkers in the Central Valley. The two were killed in a car crash last March as they were trying to flee ICE officers who mistakenly went after them.   The couple was dead at the scene, after “the driver of the SUV… lost control of the car as he was speeding, veered onto a dirt shoulder and rammed into a power pole.” ICE went after the couple after seeing Garcia, a man who matched “the target’s description,” leave his house in an SUV.   However, Garcia was not the guy they intended to arrest. They couple pulled over after being followed,   but drove off after seeing it was ICE.   Garcia was a Mexican citizen who was removed from the country last year for the third time, but has not encountered ICE in the past nor had a final active order to be removed.   Over 20 dozen people mourned the death of the couple which took place in Delano, California, wh...

Estrellita Nable-Miranda, 64, and her husband Jerry, 63 were professionals in the Philippines, as they both worked as bank tellers (Estrellita even worked for the government before this job).   However, since moving to this US in 2011, they consider themselves a “a low-income family here.” Right before migrating here, Jerry retired while Estrellita switched from being a banker to a businesswomen “selling surgical stainless cookware, Tupperware, Avon products, even insurance plans, and buying and selling apparels.” Unfortunately, her business did not do well, but the couple stayed resilient. Their son eventually petitioned them after he married and was petitioned by a Filipino American and US navy service member. Jerry moved to San Diego in 2011 and Estrellita moved in 2012, which is not uncommon for Filipinos as San Diego is “the fourth city with the most Filipino immigrants in the United States.”   Estrellita said she admired the environment in the US but o...

Miguel Perez, 39, legally   came to the US when his was 8 after his father was offered a job in Chicago. After serving in the US Army and doing 2 tours in Afghanistan (from October-April 2003 and May to October 2004), Perez suffered from PTSD leading him to feel very unsociable, and even led “to heavy drinking, a drug addiction, and ultimately to his felony conviction—“ in 2010 he was caught delivering some 2 pounds of cocaine to an undercover cop.   He was discharged from the army 6 years prior to this for smoking marijuana on base.   While his parents and sisters are US citizens, Perez’s green card was later revoked in 2010 and he was sentenced 15 years in prison.   In 2016, halfway through his sentence, Perez was taken into ICE’s custody. Unfortunately, Perez “was escorted across the US-Mexico border from Texas and handed over to Mexican authorities Friday,” according to ICE.   Most of Perez’s relatives, as well as immigration advocates, b...

While the numbers of arrests and deportations have increased since Trump’s presidency, there have been relatively less widespread ICE sweeps in Lynn, Massachusetts.   However, Edgar “Lupe” Mendoza, a 43 year old El Salvadorian who has been in the US for over 20 years, was arrested by ICE while taking his son, Zahir, to a doctors appointment alongside his girlfriend and mother of his child Cindy Magana. According to the article, his work permit was expired, which is why he was held into custody,   and why he was later detained for 2 months in the Plymouth County Correctional Facility. Magana admitted that her partner came to the Massachusetts illegally, while “his sister was waiting for him.” I chose this article because I like how instead of deporting Mendoza back to his native El Salvador, “Judge Jose A. Sanchez rejected” this Justice Department-made request and instead “granted his request for permanent resident status.” His green card is set to arrive soon...

Paddington Is a Statement on Immigration   “After a deadly earthquake destroys his home in Peruvian rainforest, a young bear (Ben Whishaw) makes his way to England in search of a new home. The bear, dubbed "Paddington" for the London train station, finds shelter with the family of Henry (Hugh Bonneville) and Mary Brown (Sally Hawkins). Although Paddington's amazement at urban living soon endears him to the Browns, someone else has her eye on him: Taxidermist Millicent Clyde (Nicole Kidman) has designs on the rare bear and his hide," according to Wikipedia. The article I chose for this week talked about how the children's fantasy movie series, staring Paddington, an the immigrant   bear, implicitly hints colonialism and discrimination and “serves to foster kindness and understanding toward people who are different from the majority of society, specifically people from different cultures.”   Paddington’s “name,” named after a London train station, ...

Bay Area immigrants are on their toes after Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf warned her community about a Bay Area wide ICE sweep , which she heard from multiple sources and not official channels.   Schaaf believes her announcement was an “ethical obligation”   and her duty despite the possibility of increased fear. She wants to protect these people and have them "prepared but not in panic." “This is an opportunity for people to learn their rights and responsibilities,” she said, adding that there are “strict protocols” in the Oakland's public schools, and that   “police officers are ‘prohibited’ from participating in ICE enforcement, and that state law limits business owners in assisting ICE.”   This, according to the article, is why there are now rising tensions between federal and local authorities because   of our state's “limited cooperation with deportation efforts.” There was at least one ICE detainee in Napa, as well as   depor...