Thread: Teenage immigrant mourned in homeland

Web Posted: 10/26/2008 12:18 CDT

Teenage immigrant mourned in homeland

Sean Mattson - Express-News PEÑA BLANCA, Mexico — In the span of 10 days, friends and family said goodbye twice to José Antonio Rivera Mancha.

The first time was when he left his family’s home in this central Mexican hamlet to embark on a journey of hundreds of miles hundreds-mile journey al otro lado, to the other side, as Mexicans sometimes refer to the United States.

On Saturday, they sent his body on a 3/61/2.5-mile funeral procession through winding mountain roads to the town cemetery.

Rivera, 17, died when his first attempt to work illegally in the United States ended at a Boerne hospital Monday. A four-day trek, largely by foot, from the El Paso area left him with fatal dehydration and renal failure.

Hundreds like Rivera die every year traveling to the United States in search of work opportunities they cannot find at home.

Rivera’s case, for the distance he traveled and his young age, drew renewed atx tention to the oft-repeated tragedy.

When he was younger, Rivera, who enjoyed sketching, wanted to study graphic arts. But he dropped out of the local middle school because it didn’t offer any arts training.

“He was disillusioned, and that’s why he left,â€

Hundreds like Rivera die every year traveling to the United States in search of work opportunities they cannot find at home.

Rivera's death is a tragedy.

What's worse is that more Americans have been killed by illegal alien "Riveras" than all the American deaths in Afghanistan, Iraq and 9-11 combined.

Does Rivera's village morn those deaths too?

We have villages here too, we have funeral procession too for the deaths caused by these illegal alien criminals.

"Even with a few more job opportunities at home, the sight of peers with cars, dollars and U.S. consumer goods is difficult to resist. "

I'm sorry the kid died, but the truth is that many MORE Americans have died due to this influx. Someone that young AND uneducated is much more likely to fall into the bad habits WE for pay with our lives. This one sentence proves my opinion of these invaders. They can SAY they come for a better life, blah blah blah... but to me they come here out of GREED.

"Even with a few more job opportunities at home, the sight of peers with cars, dollars and U.S. consumer goods is difficult to resist. " <<< FINALLY SOMEONE ADMITS TO THE TRUTH.

[quote]“Do you think that was just?â€

“Do you think that was just?â€

What jumped out for me in this sad story is that he was one of nine children! There is a population explosion in Mexico and that leads to starvation. Somehow, the U.S. is supposed to absorb all that misery and take care of everyone. Here, we have only as many children as we can take care of. In Mexico, there is no birth control (thanks to the Catholic Church's views on the subject). With the worldwide recession, we are going to hear a lot more tragic stories like this. This coming year is going to be a doozy. Be careful everyone. Home invasions are on the rise as are scams.

If "hundreds" are dieing then what is the Mexican gov. doing to discourage those thinking of coming here. Also what I don't understand is with the Mexican economy doing better than ours then why are they still coming here? Oh that's right they can't get welfare and free education as well as free health care in Mexico. Maybe if we cut them off here they would see that it WOULD be better to just stay at home.