The book “Undocumented,” is a story that captures the story of the author, Dan-el Padilla, an immigrant who came to realize the “American Dream.” This book serves as a reminder of the determination and perseverance that the immigrants must have to survive in the United States or any other host country as they try to live the life of their dreams. Through the author’s accounts, we come to realize that many aspects surround the elusive American Dream. Firstly, the definition of this context is entirely subjective and depends on what someone sees. Also, it acts as a statement that the immigrant parents are not a common breed of human beings. Their perseverance is unbridled, their courage unshakable, their determination tireless, and their selflessness mindboggling. All this comes in the name of finding a better life for their children as well as themselves. This paper will analyze the book while accounting for the problems that Dan-el Padilla faced in his quest for a better future in the United States and how it fulfills the bio-psycho-socio context.
Dan-el arrived in America from the Dominican Republic legally in search of better health care for his mother who had pregnancy difficulties. After the family’s visas lapsed, the father decided to go back to Santo Domingo leaving behind the courageous mother, Maria, with her sons in New York City as she said she had to look for better life for them. Challenges started streaming in as she lacked the legal papers to stay in the United States, thus exposing Dan-el to some obstacles. The immediate effect was that her mother could not afford a job and this led to financial difficulties. The years ensuing years would prove to be the most difficult in their lives as they lacked proper feeding and accommodation. Dan-el Padilla recounts that in most cases, their meal was merely rice and small pieces of chicken and that in one night, he noticed that his mother was not eating (27).
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Their lack of a house made them qualify for the homeless shelter system in the city. The filth of the environment around their place of refuge became unsafe thus exposing them to series of illnesses, from tuberculosis to severe asthma. In bio-psycho-socio context, the difficulty already makes the health of the family to become at stake. Sociologically, they lack the essential facilities to classify them as a family that is successful, and their homelessness can be viewed in the perspective of the functionalism theory sees the condition as another necessary social class which is inevitable. This level is one which an individual can live their entire lives, and if there is any change, then it can be extremely gradual. In a conflict theorist’s perspective, the condition of the family makes them subordinates in the society as they are too weak to climb up the social ladder.
The cause of the state is unemployment for the mother which means that their disposal to resources like money (which is the basis of all other resources in a capitalistic economy) limited. Another sub-cause is the lack of a house, which also results from the unemployment problem. Despite this, the Maria held on the idea of American Dream and wanted to see her sons grow to their fullest potential away from their political enemies back home. To some extent, it can be argued that the mother was motivated by the challenges they faced as a family and did not want to settle for sympathy. Psychologically, they were strong and had goals to achieve in life, with Dan-el keen on accomplishing his education as well as her mother. They did not use their conditions as an excuse to deter them from achieving what they admired in life. Dan-el’s admissions into a prestigious private school in New York City for outstanding students (Prep-for-Prep), Collegiate, Princeton, Oxford, and Stanford is enough evidence of their determination to achieve this dream. And, it is a statement to the entire world that regardless of your financial, social, or immigration status, anything is possible.
Another barrier that Maria’s family faced during their stay in the US is legal constraints. American foreign policy is one that makes strict obstacles to the immigrants who lack the papers and dealing with them harshly. Dan-el applied successfully as an undocumented student at Princeton University, and he knew this status would not hinder him pursuing his studies. However, there was one obstacle when he got the chance to study abroad at Oxford University. He had the notion that when he leaves for another country, it will trigger a ten-year bar from re-entering the United States. This would have psychologically affected Dan-el and his family as they would deem themselves as failures in the pursuit of American Dream. This hurdle is one of the many which suggest that the foreign policy needs reforms to favor the immigrants who not only look for a living but also contribute to the entire American economy (Burron, 2013). Dan-el recounts how the lack of social security number made it difficult for him and his family to access the essential services like opening a bank account or accepting financial aid. The legal system in the United States always saw an illegal immigrant in offering the services, and as most who support strict foreign policy, they (immigrants) are referred to as “parasites” who need to be kicked out of the country. The lack of papers (cause) made him unable to access the necessary social services (effect) and thus making his life miserable.
Despite the numerous obstacles, some people felt that Dan-el was not just an ordinary immigrant as they saw the passion for reading in him. One of these people was Jeff, the young volunteer in another shelter, who became amazed by the enthusiasm that he had for books. He ended up helping Dan-el in accessing a scholarship to Collegiate, where he was accepted in the oldest private school in the country. This art teacher noticed the unique thirst for education in the young boy and had a hand and becoming his “God father.” In this school, he was mixed with mostly kids from backgrounds and white communities. He faced racism here but had to jeer on and modestly confront the life. Being called names like “Illegal alien,” did not deter him from concentrating on his studies and getting the best out of it until he became top of his class.
Straddling the two worlds of a poor immigrant at home and in the midst of rich kids in school was difficult. Here, he had financial obstacle which led to his being in the lower class thus feeling a sense of isolation. Despite the fact that sociologists can explain the fact Dan-el was in a class that had to be there for the society to be complete, the situation affected his social circles as he had few friends at school due to his illegal stay in the US. Also, it is possible that this scenario could affect his mental well-being and the depressions and tribulations are the motivation behind the book “Undocumented.” It is possible to say that the conditions made him have deteriorated health. In sociology, the three states- health, social, and psychological, are all interconnected and one being affected can lead to all of them being influenced ( Schmitter-Heisler, 2015) . The most dreaded fear that Dan-el Padilla had was the possibility of being deported back to Dominican. The alarm had made him live in part because he had that conditioning when he was young. The fear makes him not live life to the maximum that it haunts him that whenever he can be living a successful life as an achieved scholar, the issue of deportation is still an alive demon. Psychologically, he is deprived of the other end of the American Dream as a citizen, and this brings him frustrations.
His overall social life is also affected as he would not wish to make ties that would be jeopardized by the issue of deportation. This is an issue that has caused a political divide in the entire country with the most common instance is in the 2016 presidential election campaigns where Donald Trump’s agenda was to deport all illegal immigrants and build a wall on the US border with Mexico to deter them from entering the country. The underlying sociological issue was that these immigrants were engaging in the smuggling of drugs and illegal arms. Also, there was a notion that these immigrants are the same people who take away the jobs meant for Americans thus leaving the citizens in tight situations. What does not come out is the fact that most of these people are other beings who chase a better status in life and running away from unfavorable conditions back home like war, hunger, and other natural calamities (Burron, 2013). Peralta’s is a story that arouses emotions in the sight of how the US system of dealing with the foreigners has failed to address their issues.
In conclusion, “Undocumented” is an account of the problems that immigrants face in the plight of chasing the American Dream. And most importantly, it shows that no matter what the person passes through, they should not use that as an excuse to deter them from achieving their dreams. Also, it shows that in the immigrants, there are people who genuinely look for the brighter future that the US offers and in turn help in contributing to her prosperity.
References
Burron, N.A., (2013). The New Democracy Wars: The Politics of North American Democracy Promotion in the Americas. Farnham: Ashgate
Dan-El Padilla Peralta. (2015). Undocumented: A Dominican Boy's Odyssey From a Homeless Shelter To The Ivy League (Penguin Publishing Group).
Schmitter-Heisler, B. (2015). The sociology of immigration''theory “. Migration Theory Talking across Disciplines , 83-112.
