Immigration Theme Analysis

Enrique’s story opens up the broader discussion of immigration and immigration reform in the United States and allows for a detailed understanding of the problems that immigrants face. In the prologue, Nazario recounts the conversation she had with her housekeeper Carmen when she first found out that Carmen had left behind children in Guatemala before coming the United States. This moment spurs Nazario’s interest in single immigrant mothers in comparable situations, forced to leave their families and to struggle alone for work in an unfamiliar country. In the book, Nazario details the changing landscape of immigration in recent years, describing the increase of both illegal immigrants and single mothers coming to the U.S. to find work in order to support their families at home. Enrique’s Journey delves into the complications of immigration and shows both the harm and the good that it can carry.

The debate about immigration is the backdrop of the book, and Nazario specifically brings it to the fore in the afterword, which outlines particular positions on immigration policy. Since Enrique’s journey, the trip has become even more dangerous for migrants, and even more people are trying to make it. For migrants, the financial and material benefits drive their decision to come. But the psychological trauma of family separation that often occurs should not be underestimated – it can create life-long problems for children and parents. For their home countries, the money sent from immigrants back to Central and Latin America brings a significant boost to their economic growth. From the perspective of Americans, immigration is a much-debated topic, but Nazario concludes that the immigration problem can be solved by helping bolster the economies of the countries from which immigrants come. Since the reasons for immigrating are economic, she argues, the solution to keep immigrants at home must be economic.