Immigration Hits the Sierra Nevadas
I am back to the world of blogging after a short hiatus. It appears from the entries of my thoughtful colleagues that immigration remains a hot topic. The House and Senate are holding hearings — some have referred to them as dog-and-pony shows — on the pending immigration reform legislation. One note wonder Congressman Tom Tancredo has a website (http://tancredo4prez.blogspot.com/) touting his candidacy for President, with immigration his one and only issue. Immigration, as Jennifer Chacón has written on this blog, was a hot topic in the Mexican presidential elections (which appear errily reminiscent of Election 2000 in the old USA).
Even in the relative seclusion of the Sierra Nevadas, I saw the impacts of immigration. Much has been written about new Mexican settlements in the South and Midwest, from Siler City, North Carolina to Omaha, Nebraska. The Donner Lake area and the greater Lake Tahoe area (and its many hotels and casinos), also has seen a sea change over the last few years. Tourism and construction booms have required workers. So what do we see? Migrants have come to fill this need. Taquerías now can be found in just about every small town in the area from “Tacos Jalisco” (my favorite) to “Sin Fronteras” (which translated to English roughly means, ironically enough, Without Borders). Mexican workers can be seen using public transit and in the markets, which sell chorizo and salsa as well as hot dogs and catsup. Local businesses, such as Tienda La Esperanza, a maternity shop, cater to Mexican customers.
I view this all as a positive, if not inevitable. For me, solace could be found in the new establishments, which do not cater to the crowds arriving in Hummers and SUVs. After walking in the door of Sin Fronteras, one could have been in Altar, Mexico, a migrant staging area south of Tucson, Arizona about which I wrote in April (Click here and scroll down to April 24 ). (By the way, I hear that migrant activity has shifted from Altar because of new enforcement operations; note that I use the word “shifted,” rather than “ended.”). The smell of carne asada hits you as you walk through the door of the restaurant. The young waitresses take your order in English or Spanish, with Spanish probably preferred. Children wandered around the restaurant. There was a a small bar with a few single men sitting and watching the World Cup on television. The walls displayed images and remembrances of Mexico. An advertisement in Spanish hawked a wire transfer service for sending money to Mexico. Along with the typical Mexican dishes, the menu featured Jarrirto’s (a fruit soda), Negra Modelo (Black Model, a fine beer), and many other items that just a few years ago would be hard to find in many cities in the United States.
One of the ironies is that “Sin Fronteras” is just a stone’s throw away from Donner Lake, where the ill-fated party of pioneers known as the “Donner Party” wintered over a century ago. The Donners are remembered most perhaps for their alleged resort to cannibalism to survive (some historical research questions whether this in fact occurred). Whatever happened, there is a monument at the Donner Memorial State Park commemorating the emigrant pioneers who helped settle the state of California. As Juan Hernandez has written in his book, The New American Pioneers (2006), Mexican migrants are the new pioneers in this country, looking for opportunity for better lives. If and when the United States begins to view migrants as the new pioneers, we will be in a better position to address immigration reform. The change they bring can be good, but change will come whatever we believe.
KJ