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Jose Gasca
Professor Holly Guile
English 2010
July 20 2014
From the American Struggle to the American Dream.
There are two major reasons that cause the migration patterns that we see on a global
scale, financial problems and education. In todays world of instant communication and quick
access to information on the web it is very easy to see what is going on in other parts of the
world. This fact allows us to study these movements in a more in depth approach and thus help
the individuals involved achieve their goals faster and more efficiently. Some of the reasons why
people choose to come to the United States will be presented below along with some evidence to
prove the case. There is always a struggle for people who decide to leave their home countries to
come to the great United States of America and that is worth sharing with others.
The number one reason is the bad economic situation on some of the countries that
contribute to the flow of migrants to the United States. In Mexico for example, when the national
currency was devalued and a lot of business owners lost everything they had the only reasonable
option was to migrate North. There is one story that has caught my attention from the first
moment I heard about this guy. His name is Dr. Alfredo Quinones Hinojosa and he is one of
Americas top neurosurgeon. When Dr. Quinones was younger and was living in Mexico their
family lost their Gas station due to the devaluation and they had no other means of support. That
was the moment in which Dr. Quinones decided to migrate North and take a shot at the
American dream. The first job he had was picking up crops on the California fields. His second
job was welding for a railroad company, but he knew he had the potential to reach higher goals.


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Once the first step has been taken there are also some struggles that come along the way
and the first problem would be the language barrier which can be solved by learning the
language and being able to fully merge into the American culture. For latinos in particular, this
causes major issues even if they were born in the United States. According to a poll by the Pew
Hispanic Center close to three quarters of Hispanics who do not attend College claim that their
poor English skills are to blame. This was also true for Dr. Quinones when he shares his story
about the first days he spent in the United States. His experience is similar to the rest of
immigrants that do not speak the language. He says that those first few days learning English at a
local community college in California were very difficult because the acculturation process was
new to him. But there is always good hearted people who are willing to lend a hand whenever
needed. Teachers can play a major role in the educational growth of immigrants during those
first few weeks they spend in this new country as well as those who have completed secondary
school and wish to apply to different Universities.
Education is reason number two and it should be addressed as being of extreme relevance
in persuading immigrants into joining the American society. For Dr. Quinones education was
fundamental for his success. He went from working the fields in California to earning his
Medical degree at Harvard University. This is also the reason why ESL, english as second
language, classes should be promoted and advertised more often and in several languages. This
should make it easier for immigrants to start their paths to success. In the Salt Lake City area we
fortunately count with the services that Horizonte Instruction and Training Center. This school
provides classes to immigrants at a very affordable cost of twenty dollars for a six to eight week
program. They also offer a high school completion program for adults and they offer morning
and evening classes.


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Opportunities is what make this country a good fit for immigrants and once the language
has been learned and the right path has been chosen it is time to make another important
decision, prepare for college education. Fortunately for immigrant students there are ways to pay
for this expensive but necessary investment. Scholarships is a good way to pay for college tuition
and there are several scholarships available for migrants and for the children of migrants that
want to go to college as well. It has been my personal experience to have had the opportunity to
work with students who can take advantage of scholarships that are available for Mexican
migrants and for their children as well. One of the most popular scholarships is the LULAC,
League of United Latin American Citizens, scholarship. LULAC is the largest and oldest Latino
organization in the United States. The scholarship they offer is quite substantial and can cover
most of the room and board for a student at any University of their choice. The only
disadvantage would be that it does not cover those who do not have a legal status but there other
resources for this group, private scholarships for instance.For those migrant students who do
count with a legal status the ride is much smoother. They will have access to more funds, as well
as those same private scholarships, and when it comes to government funds they can also apply
for pell grants, free money for college. Taking advantage of this aspect of the economical system
in America can prove to be very efficient for all those who wish to further their education.
It should be clear by now that education is fundamental to achieve the American dream
but what could all these opportunities mean if the immigrants did not have the right mindset to
acknowledge and make use of these opportunities. It is quite common among immigrant
communities to find that their expectations of the American dream are most of the time: having a
job and owning a house but often times they do not even consider education as a means to reach
this goal. This is sometimes due to the cultural beliefs that prevail in their countries of origin. In


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Mexico for example it is almost impossible for members of small communities to study beyond
high school education and it is people from these very small communities the ones who migrate
more often. These beliefs would be part of the category of struggles migrants encounter and it is
what needs to be changed, it needs to undergo a paradigm shift.

















Sources
http://horizonte.slcschools.org/programs/?index=ell
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/science/13conv.html?_r=0
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10013111


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http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/profiles/results/directory/profile/0020540/alfredo-quinones-
hinojosa
http://lulac.org/programs/education/scholarships/
http://www.ed.gov/programs/fpg/index.html
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0229.pdf
http://www.pewhispanic.org/files/reports/115.pdf
http://www.acenet.edu/the-presidency/columns-and-features/Pages/By-the-Numbers-ACE-
Report-Identifies-Educational-Barriers-for-Hispanics.aspx
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0300.pdf