US Latinx Activism and Protests: From the Farm to the (Legislative) Table

Transportation Journey

During 1942 to 1964, Mexicans were allowed to legally enter the United States to obtain a better lifestyle and economic stability for their families once they returned home. Due to the fact that many civilians did not have job opportunities in their home land, they would decide to leave and come towards the United States since it was advertised by everyone. They would leave with just the necessary things, which would be placed in bags or small luggages. By it being the top and popular story, they would take upon the journey, but did not know how it would be. They would start off in Mexico and travel to the border of the United States through bus or truck, where they would wait in line to enter. Once they crossed, they would leave in trains or buses to their destination to work. Many of the times, it would take them seven days to arrive. During their transportation, they would have no food resources nor private area to urinate. As seen in the image, buses just had uncomfortable seats and no bathroom in the back. The trains or buses they would travel in were not made to accommodate long journeys. As a result, this was just the beginning of their suffrage.  

With the migration transportation journey being an important factor of the testimonies and stories published, there is an increasing number of stories that we will uncover throughout. Each person had their own reason to leave, but no one thought about how hard the journey would be nor take. Although the journey never changes nor gets easier, immigrants continue to do it, since it is their only option to obtain a more secure financial income than in their home country. Additionally, families would migrate, since family friends would assure them they would obtain a better lifestyle. However, no one told them about the dangers and difficulties that they would suffer going through the entire journey. Firstly, it was not easy to cross the border once they arrived. Their first stop was waiting until they were given a contract and a destination, which could be given if they made the cut off, but they ran the risk of being split away from their traveling group. Consequently, the cut off caused contracts to differ with the length they were given, like it is seen with Cruz Leon Martinez where he had a longer time than his travel buddies due to crossing before them.  .    

With the migration transportation journey being an important factor of the testimonies and stories published, there is an increasing number of stories that we will uncover throughout. Each person had their own reason to leave, but no one thought about how hard the journey would be nor take. Although the journey never changes nor gets easier, immigrants continue to do it, since it is their only option to obtain more financial income. What they obtain here, is more than what they will ever obtain working in Mexico. Resultantly, immigrants will continue to work and go through horrible journeys in order to be capable of providing for their families.

Primarily, the buses and trains were the mostly known methods of transportations that immigrants would take in order to reach their work location. On an everyday basis, from their homes, they would be taken in the back of pickup trucks to their field works. Constantly, they were on the move through trucks to get to their destination. Since the moment they left their native lands, they have had to be moving from one place to another in order to provide their family with better economic resources. As a result, workers would routinely experience the same routes and traveling even if each entrance sent them to a different work location.

Throughout the journey, the sanitation standards were low and in a way they were treated like animals. In these transportation vehicles, people would be in buses that could be said to be similar to school buses. These school buses did not have bathrooms for the passengers to utilize throughout the long journeys. Instead, it would just be a place that an isolated box on wheels that would torture them. They would be stuck in there for hours without a single opportunity to leave nor do their necessity without being left behind. The moment they step foot outside their transportation, they would lose it all. Additionally, the only stops that it would make would be to allow immigrant workers to get off at their stop. Therefore, the conditions would get worse and worse the longer the civilians were in there.

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