Means of Survival

Mr. Vince Janikas’ Nov. 23 article, “The Faceless Wetback Is a Real Person,” describing his friendship with an illegal alien from Oaxaca, Mexico, is a warm, insightful and well-written commentary on the true motivation that compels many Mexicans to leave their families, friends, country and culture: survival.

The devaluation of the peso, the world oil glut, the country’s debt to the International Monetary Fund and the astronomical yearly increase in inflation have made it more and more difficult for all Mexicans to feed, clothe and educate themselves. Despite these circumstances, the resilience of Mexico’s social fabric has been able to sustain the country and the needs of its inhabitants. Poorer Mexicans, however, have limited opportunities and hence fewer solutions. One of these solutions is migration to the United States.

Unfortunately, the economic pressures that are consistently being placed on the Mexican migrants are often ignored, and instead of receiving sympathy for their plight, they are often portrayed in the dehumanizing Orwellian phrase “illegal aliens.”

Thank you, Mr. Janikas, for representing the Mexican migrant not as an illegal alien, but as an individual with a name, a face, a past and, hopefully, a future.

ENRIQUE TEODORO CORDOBA

San Diego