American Tortillas
Critical Reflection #1
What?: Immigration is the story of struggle. It is the story of promise and hope. It is the story of survival and renewal and redemption. It is the story of Jose Angel N. and the rude awakening he got when he immigrated to the states. For 240 years, our nation’s call to citizenship has given work and purpose to each new generation. However, the freedom to chase our individual dreams through our sweat, toil, and imagination to achieve a greater good, has been violated.
Even though we are a nation of immigrants, there is some worry behind those that come to the states. We celebrate the hard work and ingenuity they bring, but worry how they might change our country. We let our policies be led by our fears. Jose Angel N., author of Illegal, states that “It is a core tradition of this country to rectify errors and to stand for what is right, equitable, and just. But, meanwhile, the leaven of intolerance may still be perceived” (pg.19). This quote specifically, made me think about this so-called, “Land of Opportunity,” which has drawn so many people to the U.S. to escape religious persecution, violence, and their denial of basic human rights. The author narrates the story of his first night in the states and how he felt, “Humiliated and robbed of human dignity. But now, breaking into someone else’s backyard at night, I’ve become an intruder, and it shames me deeply” (pg.31). Like so many undocumented immigrants, the path to citizenship and belonging is not that easy. It requires sacrifice, assimilation, and it is a testament to how far one is willing to go to “fit in.” This is the story of Jose Angel N. and how he became “The product of an unlikely encounter — American optimism and Mexican cunning brawl within me” (pg. 243).
So What?: Many Americans have legitimate security concerns because of what they see on television and what they believe about how dangerous the world is. As a nation it is important to keep our borders safe, but as a people we must recognize and understand that “Politics has no heart. It is a cold and calculated game” (pg.234). For example, despite having a well-paying job, Jose Angel N. was isolated by a lack of legal documentation. When trying to purchase his girlfriend a beer at a Cubs baseball game, he could not because he did not have a valid ID. The author beautifully translates his emotions into words stating that, “The plight of the undocumented is no illusion: it is distance, clandestinity, criminalization, vulnerability, fear, lack of mobility, exclusion, uncertainty, humiliation” (pg.73). He seeks to be part of the community that only sees him as a nuisance. It hurts him because it cripples his chances of ever being promoted because it requires traveling, going on vacations, and even purchasing beer. Despite crossing over to the “Land of the Free,” the author does not seem to be receiving any of those benefits.
Like many before Jose Angel N., the telling of immigration stories exposes a rich array of experiences: loss, longing, duality, triumph and contradiction. Though there are many similarities, the stark difference between these stories is expectation and reality. While the author’s story of studying for the GED’s, attending college and grad school is inspiring, even he admits that his story is unusual. While he was accomplishing things most people only dream of doing, he still felt isolated and unfulfilled. It felt that every step forward he would take, he took another two steps backward. Every time he would feel defeated he would reminisce on his family from Mexico and the certain foods and activities he grew up doing. One of the memories that he discusses are the tortillas from home. Jose Angel N., states that “Even though our daily meals always varied, the central food, the one that was always present, was corn in the form of tortillas. A tortilla I always willingly ate and never thanked anyone for” (pg. 97). At first, I was not sure why the author was talking about the tortillas he grew up with and moreover, how they connected to his current situation. However, the more I thought about it, the more I understood why.
As simple as the ingredients are, one will spend years learning the secrets to making the perfect tortilla. Many families in Central and South America do not always have the luxury of going out to eat, so the one thing that they always make sure to have on their table are tortillas. They symbolize the hard work and journey behind picking the corn from the fields, processing it, and then preparing the masa by hand to feed the family and even strangers walking by and have nothing else to eat for the night. One can say it is a ritual or just a common food, but the author is telling the reader something else.
Tortillas are universal. Just like people, tortillas have immigrated to the states and around world as a staple food to many family dinners. As the English poet, John Donne, said almost 400 years ago, “No [human] is an island entire of itself; every [human] is a piece of the continent, a part of the main…And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee” (State of the State Address, 2017). As society reels and tempers run high, we should take into account that we do not stand for very much if we cannot be compelled to care for vulnerable groups when we know we can help.
Now What?: Recently, the ham-handed executive order made by Mr. Trump of “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States,” has rummaged a lot of arguments toward the cruel and insulting ban on seven Muslim countries who Trump misleadingly claims, were identified by Obama’s administration five years ago when he passed a policy “very similar to his” as sources of terror. Nevertheless, Donald Trump should not be mistaken as the root issue that we face right now, nor should any political party. He is a container for many of the things this country has failed to address for generations. And those things that he refracts in these impulsive first few days in office and all along the campaign trail are plain and simple: patriarchy and white supremacy. He is an American creation.
These issues are personal for me even beyond my family. As the daughter of an undocumented mother, the conversation of deportation and the tinge of fear of ever being pulled over, is like being “Pulled in both directions, [and becoming] a hybrid crater of darkness and hope, one who can scratch the heights of prosperity but who remains permanently rooted in misfortune” (pg.38). At the end of the novel, the author updates the audience on his current status. He discusses the major impact of how the new immigration laws have become more and more stringent. The fear of being deported led to him quitting his job as a professional interpreter. Because it was harder to find a job that wouldn’t ask for so much documentation, Jose Angel stayed at home to take care of his daughter while his wife went off to work. He describes the feeling as shameful and humiliating. But he is also very grateful for his wife and daughter because he has become more involved in the civic life of the city, participating in neighborhood meetings, in efforts to clean the streets, and keep them safe.
In a world where uncompromising utterances of politicians or the sanctimonious banalities are trying to appease everyone’s good conscience, Jose Angel N. “Puts a human face on a whole mass of individuals vowed to invisibility, or at least indistinctness” (pg.20).
