lifornia are now spreading to many other parts of the country and becoming a vital sector of the American economy, albeit at the low-end wage scale (all the more reason why they have such value). As one Mexican immigrant relates, after immigrating to Alaska and finding a good job, “In California the bosses know they can pay you less, because there are 20 people from Mexico looking for the same job. [I] now make $18 an hour as a school custodian, with health benefits and paid vacation. Here, if you’re willing to work, people treat you fairly,” (McDonnell 3).
Other than finding work, there are many more reasons why people immigrate from Mexico to America. For one, Mexico has a high rate of corruption and it motivates people to come here in search of a better lifestyle, a lifestyle they believe democracy and capitalism will afford them. Many people are also motivated to immigrate by the close proximity and relatively short distance they must travel to America. In addition, there are many Spanish language television and radio programs available in the US and many publications. Further, they can still communicate with and travel to see those they have left behind without great difficulty. The impact on American culture has been great. Salsa is now the nation’s number one condiment and Spanish language road signs dot the country from Washington to the Carolinas. Varieties of Mexican food are available in places that never even heard of a taco twenty years ago. This has created problems for areas that are unused to such massive increases in population. This often causes racial tensions to escalate with the immigrants being blamed for a host of social ills. As one man from Arkansas says, “’We’re being colonized,’ complained Dan Morris, founder of a group called Americans for an Immigration Moratorium in Northwest Arkansas, which has seen an influx of Mexican immigrants in recent years. ‘Our schools are being ...