Comments and discussion

In your analysis of “Coming to America, to clean” by Ana Maria Corona, you can consider further discussing statements that are particularly interesting or controversial in relation to the topic of illegal immigration.

The first example is the opening line: “I was happy enough, but my friends always talked about getting married or leaving town” (p. 32, ll. 3-5). As it turns out, she was convinced by other people around her to leave the village. This suggests that people’s decision to leave their country illegally is partially influenced by peer pressure or by others desiring that they should achieve a better life. At the same time, this does not mean that poverty was not another reason to leave the country. Antonia needs to borrow money to be able to cross the border and used to live in very harsh conditions in her village – as indicated by the description of her house there.

Another interesting statement is: “Our families wanted us to stay, because they didn't want to l...