Valerie Gonzalez

February 15, 2018

242B

Reflection 5:
1. What did you learn from your groups' discussion about the reading, "The Teens Caught
Between the Law and Gangs" by Jonathan Blitzer?
Through the group discussion, we helped each other understand parts of the texts that
didn’t make sense. We discussed how the violence on the East Coast has only expanded because
the government does not help them. The victims also feel too afraid to come forward to police
because they are undocumented. We uncovered that these people are ultimately trapped and
there's very little chance for them to succeed at all.

2. What personal connections or background knowledge do you have on this topic of

unaccompanied minors migrating to the US? If this is your first time learning about this topic,
what would you say is your biggest "take away" in looking at the larger conversation regarding
these unaccompanied minors?
I had some prior knowledge on the topic of unaccompanied minors before reading this
text but I didn’t know the extent of how severe and extensive the problems are for these people.
The first person I met who immigrated from El Salvador is a woman, who has become very close
to my family and I over the years. She came to the United States twenty years ago, as a teenager
with her two year old daughter. When she left El Salvador, she left behind her mother and all of
her sisters and she tells us she did this in the hopes to create a better life for her and her daughter.
She risked everything on this journey to the U.S because their was truly nothing left for her or
her daughter back home. She has openly spoken about growing up so poor that some days they
had nothing to eat and of the abuse she experienced by an older man whom she did not know.
But the woman she is today is strong and she has not let anything in her past define her. Since
she left her homeland, she has married a Salvadorian man she met here and they have two kids
together. But today she fears that her, her husband, and her oldest daughter will be deported. The
visa she was given three years ago was not allowed to be renewed and she fears this is a sign of
future deportation. After reading this text, I realized these tragedies she experienced are
widespread and common amongst Central American people. It is sad to think these innocent
unaccompanied minors face the constant risk of being sent back to the countries in which they
experienced so much violence.
3. Select 2 of the discussion questions you shared or were shared with you during today's jigsaw
discussion. Respond to each question specifically and thoughtfully.
Question 1:​ To what extent is the government liable for the misallocation of resources?
Response 1:​ I believe the government is held fully responsible for the misallocation of
resources. The government should of made sure that the resources that were intended for
education were properly used. But at the same time, I feel like this done intentionally because
most Americans are against helping immigrants.
Question 2: ​How can the United States improve its standards for unaccompanied minors?
Response 2: ​I think the U.S should improve its standards for unaccompanied minors by first
improving their schools, hiring counselors, and showing them that they can trust police. The U.S
should not blame all these people for the acts of some. They all deserve the same rights we do,
asylum or possible citizenship needs to be granted.

4. What do you think is the author's purpose in writing this essay? What do you think he hopes
the reader will understand about the issue of immigration in the United States?
I think the author’s purpose for writing this essay is to give unaccompanied minors from
Central America a voice in the United States. The reason this large group of people desperately
needs a voice is because they have been misunderstood and labeled as violent by most of the
U.S. And if they not labeled violent, they are seen as people who feel privileged and are taking
away from Americans. The truth is almost all of these minors that come from Central America
are trying to escape the violence in their country. The author is trying to show us that these
minors are being blamed for the violence that these gang members are doing. These innocent
people are trapped by violence, poor education, and fear of deportation every day.

5. Preview the Luiselli book and make a plan for how you will ensure you are caught up and
prepared to discuss the book next week. What strategies will you use to ensure you understand
the book? Explain your plan.
My plan is to read the book through completely on saturday and to give myself a night to
process the ideas and develop my own questions/ideas. On sunday, I plan to go through the book,
annotate phrases and quotes that stand out to me, and also look up definitions. And on monday, I
plan to thoroughly do the assignment on time.

BONUS QUESTION:
In what ways does this reading and/or topic of unaccompanied minors migrating to the United
States change or inform your ideas about the "dream" that Coates writes about? Explain.
This whole text shows just how deeply trapped these individuals are and how
unattainable the dream is for these unaccompanied minors. This text adds to what Coates wrote
about but for these people I feel like all they can have is hope because things will mostly likely
end ok..