The World of Mexican Migrants: The Rock and the Hard Place
Widely praised as a splendid addition to the literature on the great wave of post–;1970 immigration from Mexico—as a result of which an estimated 6 million undocumented Mexican migrants now live in the United States—The World of Mexican Migrants, by acclaimed author Judith Adler Hellman, takes us into the lives of those who, no longer able to eke out even a modest living in their homeland, have traveled north to find jobs.

Hellman takes us deep into the sending communities in Mexico, where we witness the conditions that lead Mexicans to risk their lives crossing the border and meet those who live on Mexico's largest source of foreign income, remittances from family members al Norte. We hear astonishing border crossing tales—including one man's journey riding suspended from the undercarriage of a train. In New York and Los Angeles, construction workers, restaurant staff, street vendors, and deliverymen share their survival strategies—the ways in which they work, send money home, find housing, learn English, send their children to school, and avoid detection.

Drawing upon five years of in-depth interviews, Hellman offers a humanizing perspective and “essential window” (Booklist ) into the lives and struggles of Mexican migrants living in the United States.
1100627420
The World of Mexican Migrants: The Rock and the Hard Place
Widely praised as a splendid addition to the literature on the great wave of post–;1970 immigration from Mexico—as a result of which an estimated 6 million undocumented Mexican migrants now live in the United States—The World of Mexican Migrants, by acclaimed author Judith Adler Hellman, takes us into the lives of those who, no longer able to eke out even a modest living in their homeland, have traveled north to find jobs.

Hellman takes us deep into the sending communities in Mexico, where we witness the conditions that lead Mexicans to risk their lives crossing the border and meet those who live on Mexico's largest source of foreign income, remittances from family members al Norte. We hear astonishing border crossing tales—including one man's journey riding suspended from the undercarriage of a train. In New York and Los Angeles, construction workers, restaurant staff, street vendors, and deliverymen share their survival strategies—the ways in which they work, send money home, find housing, learn English, send their children to school, and avoid detection.

Drawing upon five years of in-depth interviews, Hellman offers a humanizing perspective and “essential window” (Booklist ) into the lives and struggles of Mexican migrants living in the United States.
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The World of Mexican Migrants: The Rock and the Hard Place

The World of Mexican Migrants: The Rock and the Hard Place

by Judith Hellman
The World of Mexican Migrants: The Rock and the Hard Place

The World of Mexican Migrants: The Rock and the Hard Place

by Judith Hellman

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Overview

Widely praised as a splendid addition to the literature on the great wave of post–;1970 immigration from Mexico—as a result of which an estimated 6 million undocumented Mexican migrants now live in the United States—The World of Mexican Migrants, by acclaimed author Judith Adler Hellman, takes us into the lives of those who, no longer able to eke out even a modest living in their homeland, have traveled north to find jobs.

Hellman takes us deep into the sending communities in Mexico, where we witness the conditions that lead Mexicans to risk their lives crossing the border and meet those who live on Mexico's largest source of foreign income, remittances from family members al Norte. We hear astonishing border crossing tales—including one man's journey riding suspended from the undercarriage of a train. In New York and Los Angeles, construction workers, restaurant staff, street vendors, and deliverymen share their survival strategies—the ways in which they work, send money home, find housing, learn English, send their children to school, and avoid detection.

Drawing upon five years of in-depth interviews, Hellman offers a humanizing perspective and “essential window” (Booklist ) into the lives and struggles of Mexican migrants living in the United States.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781595586698
Publisher: New Press, The
Publication date: 08/01/2009
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 288
File size: 684 KB

About the Author

Judith Adler Hellman is a professor of social and political science at York University in Canada. The author of three previous books, Mexican Lives (The New Press), Mexico in Crisis, and Journeys Among Women, she has done fieldwork in Mexico since the late 1960s. Born and raised in New York City, she lives in Toronto, Canada.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Prologue xiii

Introduction 1

Part I The Rock

1 Beto: Those Not with US 17

2 Nopal Verde: The Life of a Town 23

3 San Rafael: A Life of Cooperation 35

4 Marta: The Tyranny of In-Laws 45

5 Dolores: "We Only Speak on Sundays" 57

Part II The Journey

6 Tomás: Traveling in Style 65

7 Elena: "Absolutely Still" 77

8 Angel: Cat and Mouse 83

9 Fernando: "A Snake's Breakfast" 87

10 The Tucson Consulate 93

11 No More Deaths 99

12 Shanti and Daniel 107

13 "Walking Around, Living Their Lives" 113

Part III The Hard Place

14 Carlos: Names and Networks 119

15 Sara: "Ten Words in Ten Years" 137

16 Francisco: The Hardest Place 145

Part IV To Stay or to Return Home

17 Julio: A Quick Exit 169

18 Manuel: Life After Amnesty 177

19 Patricia: Weighing the Good and the Bad 191

Conclusion 211

A Note on Methodology 233

Notes 243

Glossary 247

Suggested Reading 251

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