by Jo Ann Courtney

Created on: August 02, 2008   Last Updated: August 03, 2008

Mexican immigrants come to America legally and illegally. They are cooks, maids, nannies, and field workers. I have seen how innovated these people are, I have been in their country and seen the art and pottery and other crafts they produce in order to make a living.

I live in a United States border town in southern Arizona and I have lived here most of my life. We are the agriculture winter vegetable capital of the United States.

Do you know that because of the strict crack down on employer law of checking whether or not these Mexican people are legally in the United States what a problem this has created for the agriculture farmer and Americans? Here he has fields ready to harvest and not enough help to do so, with the threat of losing their harvest and their investment in their crops because they do not have enough harvesters. To tell you the truth I haven't seen too many Americans rushing out to work in those fields, but we sure do complain at the grocery store of high vegetable price.

Historically these field workers have worked in substandard conditions. These men and women have gotten low wages and poor working conditions and not to minimize the very hot Arizona summers (115 120 degrees in the summer). The Caesar Chavez movement improved working conditions as well as wages for these field workers.

As Americans we want to protect our way of life and put an end to terrorist activity. But in general throughout our country I think these laws are just creating segregation and prejudice feeling towards Mexican people who have been our country's good close neighbors and have worked in our country a very long time. We should be encouraging and bridging our relationship with Mexico not building walls.

Honestly do the American people really belief that these laws are protecting our borders from terrorist, which I really think is driving these laws to arrest these poor Mexican people that enter our country illegally just to work and help support their families.

I feel our political leader's new laws are creating more dissention and are jeopardizing our relationship with our close neighbor Mexico.

These Mexican individuals come over to work long hours in 115 120 degree summer temperatures in southern Arizona. I have driven through the farm area in the evening and have seen the fields all aglow with spot lights with the field workers working late into the night. Keep in mind that the temperatures in the summer in Arizona are still very hot, even into the evening. When these

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