https://www.kpbs.org/news/2020/may/29/chicano-park-mural-remembers-anastasio-hernandez-r/
A mural project is underway in San Diego's Chicano Park in memory of Anastasio Hernández-Rojas, an undocumented resident of San Diego who died in 2010 from injuries sustained by agents of the U.S. Border Patrol. Anastasio had been living in the United States as an undocumented immigrant since he was 15. The debates and discussions surrounding "legal vs. illegal" immigration are intensely polarizing and have come to the forefront of political topics today with the election of Donald Trump. But putting the political sentiments and tragedies aside, I choose to share this article because I am always amazed by the power of murals, which I feel are incredibly effective in conveying emotion and message in the public spaces they occupy. Murals can provide a voice to those who would otherwise be voiceless, they can allow for an expression and experiencing of visual art that is free of the constraints of privilege. For what it's worth in terms of starting a discussion, here is my own opinion on the political topics that surround this mural's creation. Without "doxxing" anyone, I have met many undocumented immigrants that have struck me as nothing less than incredibly hardworking and upstanding individuals. Statistics objectively show that the vast majority of undocumented immigrants pay taxes (in spite of receiving no tax benefits) and are some of the lowest risk individuals in this country for crime and criminal behaviors. Given this nation's history with regards to colonization and conquest, the arbitration of who qualifies as being "legal" or "illegal" with regards to their immigration status strikes me as nothing short of hypocritical. For example, California was a part of México not even 200 years ago until it was "won" as a territorial acquisition by the U.S. after a brutal war with México (and of course before that was occupied solely by indigenous Native Americans, some of whose descendants are now considered "illegal immigrants"). On top of this fact, the immigrants who come here "illegally" are more often than not seeking nothing more than a better life for themselves and their families, just as countless generations of immigrants to this country have before. My own family's history of immigration to this country is largely what a politically conservative person would laud as "legal" or "the right way." And yet, when my own great-grandfather came to the United States from China, he was arriving as a former military official with blood on his hands. It is my personal opinion that anti-immigrant sentiment in the 21st century is less of the moralistic argument of "following the law" that it is often framed as and more of a generalized racism and xenophobia that is not new to the United States. The injustices that undocumented immigrants face in this country, which have only gotten exponentially worse in the past handful of years, do not seem to be a case where "the punishment matches the crime." Certainly, crossing a border does not merit being killed, although it seems that many citizens of the United States would disagree with me on that point. I am not afraid to point out that my opinion is colored with bias. "No one is illegal on stolen land." Please feel free to contribute your own opinion to the discussion. Here is another link to the article: https://www.kpbs.org/news/2020/may/29/chicano-park-mural-remembers-anastasio-hernandez-r/
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