by Christopher Stone

Created on: December 31, 2008

I think this question should be worded differently because I am willing to wager that legal immigrants most likely know much more about immigration than illegal immigrants do. I think Americans who cannot answer this question are thinking of answers from a American point of view, and therefore forcing themselves to think that someone is doing something wrong because these people should be aware of such strict laws.

In the schools and throughout our entire life times we as americans have been taught that it is okay to question anything, anywhere, anytime. We have also been taught to keep ourselves informed of the different rules and laws of our land and that those rules and laws cannot be changed at the blink of a eye. We also have been taught that disobeying or breaking said rules and laws maycome with certain consequences. We also know that if we as Americans work hard then we can have better lives, but it is shared throughout this country that the more you know or the more you are informed then the better your chances are at fullfilling that American dream we also keep stored in the back of our minds that no matter how much we fail we will always have a chance of getting back what was lost.

If Americans continue to assign this type of thinking to illegal immigrants then the answers to such questions will always elude them, If those same Americans look at the situation from a different perspective then the answers to this question would become very clear.

In Mexico the government is very corrupt and has been for as long as there has been a Mexico, therefore the law that was broken today might very well have disappeared with the donation of a few dollars. The majority of Mexican people do not believe the have a say in what their government does, it is also very common in Mexico that if a crime has been committed against you, the chances of you getting help from the law depend highly on the amount of money you have.

When the children go to school to learn about the laws of the land (which vast amounts do not even attend) it is taken with a grain of salt because those very same laws are subject to corruption. the majority of the people believe that being smart and well informed will not put food on the table in their country and for the most part they are correct. They look at sneaking into the United States as Americans would look at graduating college, the hard part is over, its time to make money.. When Americans speak of corruption its usually because someone was caught and the country will be awaiting the outcome however when Mexicans speak of it, it is a common way their country does its daily business.

This is a way of life in Mexico, to be suspicious of government and to not question or get involved at all. It is not just a passing thought or a momentary way of thinking it is their world. It is a very simple (although very hard to perform) decision for them to decide to make the journey, as simple as go or stay and all they will learn no matter how hard we Americans like to think we can teach them is what is passed on from illegal immigrant to illegal immigrant not some written government law somewhere

If we, as Americans are not going to take over the Mexican government and give the people generations of "of the people, for the people and by the people" (which we of course cannot); then I ask you as the reader: how can we expect illegal immigrants to consider our laws and rules when all the rules and laws they have ever known have always been for sale.

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