The Strength Of Illegal Immigration In Enrique's Journey

What True Strength Is Arnold Schwarzenegger once said, “When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.” One hardship that requires great strength in order to overcome is immigration. In her biography Enrique’s Journey, Sonia Nazario reveals that illegal immigration is a life-threatening risk, but with strong will and extreme determination, the goal of making it the United States can be achieved. Three major examples show this idea. The first example is when Enrique runs from the police. A second example is when he gets beaten badly and robbed. Finally, a third example is Enrique’s awful living conditions. Enrique running from the police displays how illegal immigration is a life-threatening risk. On one of Enrique’s many attempts at crossing the border to the United States he has to go through the La Arrocera immigration checkpoint; the most feared checkpoint of all. The train stops as it arrives at the checkpoint. Every other …show more content…
Enrique trudges through many tough situations and experiences many rough hardships, but the worst risk of all of immigration is the living conditions. Unlike how all the other hardships and risks are situational, the awful living conditions are constant. No matter what path someone takes while illegally migrating, the living conditions will be awful. Nazario states that, “Enrique has slept on the ground; in a sewage culvert, curled up with other migrants; on top of gravestones” (51). That type of environment is life-threatening and never sanitary. Also, Enrique, on multiple occasions, goes several days without food and many days without water. This is an extremely dangerous way to live and could, in a split second, take someone's life. This is when Enrique really digs deep to find that extreme determination, in order to keep on moving forward. Never is immigration safe when it comes to the living