Editorial Cartoons & Immigration 

The United States and Mexico have an extensive history. The U.S./Mexican border, according to National Geographic, stretches 1,954 miles and goes from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean (National Geographic). The Migration Policy Institute that high amounts of migration from Mexico to the U.S. began in the 20th century due to labor demands and political unrest in the country. According to the same article, Mexicans have been the largest immigrant group in the United states, with 11.6 million residing as of 2013. They are also the largest undocumented immigrant group, with 59% of the 11.9 million estimated total of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. in 2012 being from Mexico (Batalova, Zong, 2014). 

 

In recent years, violence, poverty, and drug wars in Central America have also caused a wave of migration from residents from countries such as El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala (Renwick, 2014). For the sake of contrast, one cartoon is taken from that conflict and the issue of the high amount of unaccompanied minors in particular. This will be to contrast and comparison between that immigration and that of those coming from Mexico. 

 

With such a high amount of immigrants coming from these parts of the world, since th 2000's there have been national debates on the topic in regards to whether or not it is a real problem and why, as well as how it should be handled.