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who fled later were mostly lower-class refugees, people with whom the earlier arrivals would not have associated in Cuba. The earlier arrivals, who are firmly established in Florida and who control many businesses and financial institutions, distance them- selves from the more recent immigrants.

These divisions of national origin and social class are a major obstacle to political unity. One consequence is a severe underrepresentation in politics. Because Latinos make up 14.8 percent of the U.S. population, we might expect thirteen or fourteen U.S. Senators to be Latino. How many are there? Three. In addition, Latinos hold only

284 C h a p t e r 9 R A C E A N D E T H N I C I T Y

Cultural Diversity in the United States The Illegal Travel Guide

M anuel was a drinking buddy of Jose, a man I had met in Colima, Mexico.At 45, Manuel was friendly, outgoing, and enterprising.

Manuel, who had lived in the United States for seven years, spoke fluent English. Preferring to live in his hometown in Colima, where he palled around with his childhood friends, Manuel always seemed to have money and free time.

When Manuel invited me to go on a business trip with him, I ac- cepted. I never could figure out what he did for a living or how he could afford a car, a luxury that none of his friends had. As we traveled from one remote village to another, Manuel would sell used clothing that he had heaped in the back of his older-model Ford sta- tion wagon.

At one stop, Manuel took me into a dirt-floored, thatched-roof hut. While chickens ran in and out, Manuel whispered to a slender man who was about 23 years old. The poverty was overwhelming. Juan, as his name turned out to be, had a partial grade school education. He also had a wife, four hun- gry children under the age of 5, and two pigs—his main food supply. Although eager to work, Juan had no job, for there was simply no work available in this remote village.

As we were drinking a Coke, which seems to be the national beverage of Mexico’s poor, Manuel ex- plained to me that he was not only selling clothing— he was also lining up migrants to the United States. For a fee, he would take a man to the border and in- troduce him to a “wolf,” who would help him cross into the promised land.

When I saw the hope in Juan’s face, I knew nothing would stop him. He was borrowing every cent he could from every friend and relative to scrape the money together. Although he risked losing everything if apprehended and he would be facing unknown risks, Juan would make the trip, for wealth beckoned on the other side. He knew people who had been to the United States and spoke glowingly of its opportunities. Manuel, of course, the salesman he was, stoked the fires of hope.

Looking up from the children playing on the dirt floor with chick- ens pecking about them, I saw a man who loved his family. In order to make the desperate bid for a better life, he would suffer an enforced ab- sence, as well as the uncertainties of a foreign culture whose language he did not know.

Juan opened his billfold, took something out, and slowly handed it to me. I looked at it curiously. I felt tears as I saw the tenderness with which he handled this piece of paper. It was his passport to the land of opportunity: a Social Secu- rity card made out in his name, sent by a friend who had already made

the trip and who was waiting for Juan on the other side of the border.

It was then that I realized that the thousands of Manuels scurrying about Mexico and the millions of Juans they are transporting can never be stopped, for only the United States can fulfill their dreams of a better life.

For Your Consideration The vast stream of immigrants crossing illegally across the Mexican–U.S. border has become a national issue. What do you think is the best way to deal with this issue? Why?

A man and woman from Mexico crossing the Rio Grande on their way to Texas.

United States

United States