Readers angry at festive Mexican town

Our story on the Mexican town of Jalpa, Zacatecas, organizing a December fair to greet returning migrants and their children drew a variety of responses. About half a dozen people wrote comments like this one: "These aren't migrants, rather illegal trespassers, felons." Many others were filled with ethnic slurs. Apparently, these days it isn't possible to write the word "immigrant" without a certain segment of the readership thinking "illegal," even though according to several studies, including this one, the vast majority of immigrants are legal residents or U.S. citizens.

Indeed, my story quoted several U.S. citizens among the returnees, including many who are the children of people who migrated from Zacatecas decades ago. Other comments were from people with roots in Jalpa, many happy with the story, including a California state senator who sent us a message from his BlackBerry en route to Jalpa — he was going to visit his wife's family there.

But one Jalpa native now living in the U.S. wasn't so happy with the tough-looking guys in the photos that ran with the story: "You should of taken pictures of beautiful scenes of Jalpa and the town.... Not all people from that town are ghetto." Point taken. Here's one shot from our camera that didn't make the paper. From left to right: Adrian Garcia, Alberto Guerrero, an unidentified friend, Ruby Rodriguez and Henry Rodriguez, all natives of Southern California, who had just finished shopping in Jalpa's town center.

— Héctor Tobar in Mexico City

Comments

[El Chele]

Hector,
I feel like I know you since having read your book a while back. Your book mentions a number of parallels to my experiences growing up and relating to the discussion of immigration (in all forms).

I think your commentary is dead on. Although I am a citizen, I too sense a growing and disturbing sentiment that immigration in general is a problem and that immigration cannot exist without a criminal element and that everyone tied to one is automatically tied to the other one way or another. It makes me feel as though we are not too far from the day when the idea of stopping all immigration will become a more widespread notion than it is today.

In addition, it also makes me feel that even if I am a citizen, I am still not accepted as a "real" American, as I could still be subjected to the slurs you mention along with the erroneous association to illegal immigration solely based on the fact that I am of Latin American heritage.

Lastly, calling people morons and so forth doesn't help change the attitudes of anyone. It only gives more reason for those folks at which that commentary is targeted to state that somehow we are beneath them. We need to rise above the crowd, not sink.

[marco]

where are the original story comments, i can't find a link.

[John Lammi Ph.D.]

What happened to the comment I sent in Dec. 30?

[John Lammi Ph.D.]

The Times uses 'anti-illegal immigration' with 'anti-immigration' interchangeably. So, The Times bears some responsibility for this mixing up of these terms.

[Gustavo Arellano]

Hector: Screw those morons who talk trash on jalpeños returning for some vacation time. My family is from Jerez, which isn't too far from Jalpa, and hundreds of us (almost all citizens, btw) return yearly. All you Know Nothings who complain: deal with it...