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Desire Espinoza
Sanchez Pd. 3
The Devils Highway Essay
6 December 2017
Why Do Borders Separate Us?

Do you ever wonder what our world would be like if immigration borders did not exist?

It is believed that our way of living is that the immigration border is there to keep us safe from

illegal people. Or how they change our way of living, the way our cultures are, and how our

environment changes. In The Devils Highway, it explains how borders are isolating us and how

we are affected from it.

To begin with, it is important to have immigration borders to separate us, many can cause

harm to families and themselves or other ways. For instance, we the United States citizens we are

affected either physically or financially. Many immigrants have no limit when trying to cross,

they do not care for the cost. They have been in bad condition when accomplishing on crossing

the border. Most of them have been proven to use our supplies in our hospitals the author said,

“It was not uncommon for illegals to rehydrate, catch a nap, eat some hospital food, then walk

out the doors and into the United States.” (Urrea 179). The hospitals would be affected by these

actions of the immigrants. When illegal immigrants are captured or they are injured they are

brought into our hospitals, they have no money or no way to afford health care which meant, our

government would pay for their health care, the hospitals would always expect for someone to

pay the bill of the illegals and that was left to our government. The hospitals or government

would not care if it were just an illegal or prisoners, “If the clients were prisoners, the

government had to pay for their health care.” (179). Our hospitals are supposed to be for our tax

paying citizens, not a location where illegal immigrants get to be freeloaders. This is simply

unfair to all citizens, citizens in the United States work to pay their finical aid, not to pay for the
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people who do not live inside the border, who have broken the law by tress passing. In fact,

“Seventy-seven hospitals throughout the American Southwest were losing about $190 million in

unpaid bills, and tens of millions of these could be attributed to medical attention for illegals…”

(179). Illegals have so much for them, it is as if it is an award for accomplishing of crossing the

border. They are given free food in the hospitals, also they are practically getting free health care

advantages. Many might assume that when achieving on crossing the immigration border, they

will receive plenty resources to survive in the United States. Illegals have all advantages, when

they cross when they should not, they have not deserved anything when breaking a law. Many

illegals think it okay to try to cross, because at some border stops in the Mexico border they

would supply survival kits, when you try to cross the U.S. border. That is giving them the okay to

cross.

Furthermore, when having immigrant borders those separate us. Many will feel as if they

are different or better just because they are allowed to cross, but for those whom cannot cross can

be trouble. Instead of us having borders to separate us and not let illegal cross is unfair to them.

Who says they cannot better our country, why do people different themselves into a different

category. United states citizens and illegal immigrants have the same problems. Our common

problems are either physically or financially. It has been proven that both “categories” are

affected physically and financially for example, in ‘The Devils Highway’, Reymundo had been in

a financial crisis, where he had to go to the states to work. He could not handle the wages he was

earning in Mexico so, “He had worked at a cannery in Ohio, and then done migrant harvesting at

a Mississippi ranch. Unlike many of his cohorts, he had been working for wages when Mexico’s

economic crisis had hit him, working for Coco-Cola, Presidente Fox’s old company …” (145). In

the authors words he could not support his family, he struggled just like we would, he is no
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different than us. One might think just because we live in different states we are different, we

should all be equal and together, not having a border meaning we are different from others. After

all, everyone has families to support Reymundo has a son, he wanted to cross the border with,

but he passed away on the journey. Just like any parent who has lost their child, they would be

sad, and in shock. Reymundos reaction was that, “He was shouting and crying and throwing

money into the air.” (167). His reason for throwing the money in the air was because their plan

was ruin. He had lost all hope for a new beginning with his son. The plan was to cross the border

and get a job and earn money to have a better life. Anyone would go through such situation to

better his or her life.

Many might believe that borders are either necessary or unnecessary. It is common for

United State citizens to think we need a borders because it is unfair to them. They can think on

why others deserve what they get. It is also common to think why illegal immigrants think we do

not need an immigration border. They just want what is best for their families. All they want to

do is better themselves.
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Work cited

Urrea, Luis Alberto. “Why do borders separate us?” The Devils Highway, Back Bay

Books, April 2004, 237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017.145-179.

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