El Nogalar Study Guide (9MB) - Goodman Theatre

Illegal Immigration Matters
BY ERIN GAYNOR
ABOVE: Mural on the Nogales, Sonora side of the US-Mexico border. It depicts the harsh realities of illegal immigrants travelling through the
Sonoran desert. The wall itself, at this location, is constructed of Korean War-era tin sheets used as makeshift airplane landing strips. Photo
courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user, Realbrvhrt.
Most Americans have descendants from other countries.
Immigration has been prevalent in American culture
since Christopher Columbus’ arrival (in the Bahamas) in
1492. Our Thanksgiving tradition is based on a peaceful
event—the Pilgrims and indigenous North Americans
finding harmony over food. But Columbus’ voyage across
the ocean concluded with diseases wiping out almost
the entire indigenous Bahamian population. When it
wasn’t disease, war was killing most of the indigenous
North American people. And then came the slave trade.
Immigration unfortunately is often followed by
persecution, which today takes form in immigrants’
inability to speak for themselves, whether about housing
concerns or basic employee rights. Making the situation
even more difficult and problematic for immigrants is
Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070 and Indiana’s Senate Bill
590. Arizona’s SB 1070 is now law, and Indiana’s SB
590 has passed through the House, meaning its passing
into law is imminent.
Both bills deal with illegal immigration in terms that
are broader and more severe. The U.S. Constitution
states someone who “(1) enters or attempts to enter
the U.S. at any time or place other than as designated
by immigration officers; (2) eludes examination by
immigration officers; or (3) attempts to enter or obtains
entry to the U.S. by a willfully false or misleading
representation is guilty of improper entry by an alien,”
and it’s an offense punishable by federal law. It is
important to note neither SB 1070 or SB 590 refutes
these stipulations, but make troubling addendums.
In the Indiana bill, English is the required language,
with “certain exceptions” (which are never clarified), by
all officers and state employees while performing their
duties. A common argument when people immigrate
to the U.S. is that they need to learn “our language.”
Although English is the predominant language in the
U.S., our country has no official language. The U.S.
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