media 384 final fall 2011

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WOMEN AND IMMIGRATION

Yuyuhi ta Guzman ·Media 384 ·Professor Caçoilo

December 10, 2011



A Brief ExplanationWho Are Immigrants?How Do Immigration LawsAffect Immigrant Women?Women In Detention CentersWhat Can The Media Do?

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WHERE ARE

HISPANIC WOMEN?A Brie Explanation

I thought to mysel as Ibrowsed the syllabi o myWomen and Gender Stud-ies classes; I only saw twoarticles, one written by aChicana and a Mexican nunwho had lived in the 18th

century. I am tired o read-ing about white, privilegedwomen; I am not saying thattheir struggle is insignif-cant but what about otherwomen?

I could have written aboutthe successes o Hispanic

women, Hispanic women onTV and movies, and so on.However, I decided to ocusthis project on Hispanicwomen and immigrationbecause o the anti-immi-gration laws in Alabama andArizona.



In 2010 Arizona and Ala-bama passed laws that aim toidentiy, prosecute and deportillegal immigrants. So how dothese laws concern women?Are there not men who areaected by this law too? Ac-cording to Amy Newman, “It’sabout the vulnerability o the

emale experience as it relatesto her body and health. It’sabout the act that a womanis exposed to vastly dierent,dangerous scenarios because

o her sex”. However, immi-grant women are the oneswho make decisions or theiramily. The anti-immigrantslaws are taking away motherswho are sometimes the soleproviders o a amily.

Furthermore, these laws arehurting the children o immi-

grants because i both parentsare arrested and deportedthey have to go into the ostercare system. “



In 2009, women representabout 10 percent o the grow-

ing detention population in theUnited States (Rhoad). How-ever, many o the women whoare arrested by ICE have nocriminal backgrounds, “theyare victims o trafcking,survivors o sexual assault anddomestic violence, pregnant

women, nursing mothers,children, the elderly and theseriously ill” (Rhoad).

Once women and men aredetained, they are treated cru-elly and are subject to neglect.

Megan Rhoads interviewedwomen who were detained,

and ound that women wereshackled during pregnancy,denied breast pumps, andwere humiliated and demoral-ized because they could notobtain sanitary pads.

Treatment like this shouldnot be silenced. Silence

brings no change thereoreimmigrant women AND menshould speak up when piti-less actions are made againstthem.

So How Are Women TreatedOnce ICE Detains Them?



WHAT CAN

THE MEDIA DO?To be honest, I am not quite surewhat the Media can do. Ideally, Iwould like the Media to ocus onissues like this, make the story oimmigrant women the ront page,and raise awareness about this

issue; to put a ace to immigrantmen and women and to take away

misconceptions o illegal immi-grants. But I know that will nothappen any time soon. What canhappen is people who are passion-ate about immigration policies con-tinue raising awareness, I hope I

have inspired someone to look intothis issue and spread the word.



Cervantes, Wendy, and Yali Lincrot. "The Impact o Immigration Enorce-ment on Child Welare | First Focus." Home | First Focus. 7 Apr. 2010.Web. 10 Dec. 2011.

Close, Sandy, and Richard Rodriguez. "NAM Poll: Women ImmigrantsKeeping Families Together - NAM." New America Media. 14 May 2009.Web. 10 Dec.

Newman, Amie. "Why Is the Arizona Immigration Law A 'Women'sIssue?' | RH Reality Check." RH Reality Check | Reproductive HealthInormation, News, Commentary and Community. 14 May 2010. Web. 9Dec. 2011.

Rhoad, Meghan. "Holding the Line | Human Rights Watch." HumanRights Watch | Deending Human Rights Worldwide. 10 July 2009. Web.9 Dec. 2011.

Sreeharsha, Kavitha. “Reorming America’s Immigration Laws: A Wom-an’s Struggle.” Immigration Policy Center. June 2010.

WORKS CITED

media 384 final fall 2011

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