Separating the mother from her son is one of the most powerful techniques that Henriquez uses to demonstrate the horror of American immigration policy. The confusion and fear of the woman captured by guards are presented vividly and acutely, and the very topic of separation hurts the reader’s consciousness significantly. In her story, Henriquez resorts to realistic images to show the suffering of the woman who cannot find her son. The context of the narrative is deeper, and despite the fact that there are no direct references to specific policies and names, readers understand the author’s idea. The separation of the family is one of the few horrors that a person can face when being caught at an illegal border crossing. The conditions of detention of such criminals, their way of life, and other factors increase the perception of the danger and anxiety that immigrants experience. Nevertheless, throughout the story, Henriquez regularly recalls that the woman has lost her son, and this case is probably one of the few. Moreover, this is the story of one particular heroine, and if the author described the anxieties of other characters, she would probably use the same trick. Each prisoner detained as a result of unsuccessful immigration has an individual story in which the family takes the main place. The separation of loved ones is a painful factor, and the indifference and neglect of all those involved identify the situation with the horrors of American immigration policy that is ruthless in its manifestation. Thus, this technique allows Henriquez to convey the emotional suffering of the heroine as believable as possible, and the dream of meeting her son is a successful technique to convey the horror of the situation.
Work Cited
Henriquez, Christina. “Everything Is Far from Here.” The New Yorker, 2017, Web.