Spaces and exchanges : immigration int the USA

The notion I am going to deal with is « Spaces and Exchanges ». To begin with, I’ld like to give a definition of the notion : an exchange is an act of giving and receiving something else in return. It can also be seen as a continuous movement or circulation. There are different kinds of exchanges : media, people, trade… To illustrate the notion, I have chosen to talk about immigration in the USA. We way wonder to what extent immigration may be considered as a form of exchange. Over the last decades, the US-Mexico border has been a burning and debated issue. It is one of the longest borders in the world and also one of the busiest. Indeed, it has become a strategic place for legal and illegal business. Not only do commercial exchanges take place there, it is also a nerve centre for drug dealing. The border acts like a magnet for Mexican immigrants who dream of a better life in the USA. Actually, the job offers are limited in Mexico and the standards of living are much lower than in the USA. Contrary to Mexico which is struck by unemployment and poverty, ... ...the USA appears as a land of opportunities as far as the job market is concerned. That is the reason why many destitute Mexicans cross the border, whether legally or illegally. That is the reason why many destitute Mexicans cross the border, whether legally or illegally. While they move to America hoping for better prospects, they are often offered menial and painful jobs and accept low wages. That is the paradox of the situation of the Mexican immigrants : they represent more than half of the immigrants in the USA and while some Americans aim at limiting their numbers, others view them as a cheap labour force. As a result, immigration is a highly controversial issue. On the one hand, the border is watched over by patrols or militia such as the Minutemen whose goal is to prevent illegal immigration, even if it implies resorting to violence. They help patrols catch and arrest illegal immigrants, and ask for a tighter border control in order to limit immigration. In any case, this migration pattern is the basis all kinds of exchanges. As we have just said, it enables economic exchanges : while Mexicans are given the opportunity to improve their living conditions, the US economy benefits from their adaptability. Besides, immigration tends to create a multicultural society, with the emergence of TV channels in Spanish for example. Another illustration of these exchanges is Spanglish : it shows the influence of Spanish over the English language. Actually, it is not only a matter of linguistics, it has also become a commercial strategy to target the Latino community in the USA. When big American firms want to sell their products to the Spanish-speaking community, they often use Spanglish in their ads. It is a way of appealing to Latinos, whose purchasing power is expected to triple over the next few years. As a conclusion, we can say that even if the Mexican immigration remains debated, it is indisputably a source of economic and cultural wealth for the USA. Nevertheless, the American Dream sometimes turns out to be more an utopia than reality."

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