Mexican migrants find it beneficial to come to a new country, look for some opportunities that are unavailable in their native country, and have better earnings. They cannot even guess how dangerous in terms of health their migration may be. They want to believe that it is possible to measure their well-being with everything that is around (Wilson, 2009). Unnatural Causes: Becoming American is the episode that discloses the peculiarities of the migrants’ lives in the USA, explains the negative effects of the American life on Mexican migrants, and informs of why the representatives of one of the poorest population have the best health and lose it when they come to America.
Mexicans have poor living and working conditions in the USA. They have nothing but accept such conditions to stay in the country, get an opportunity to change their lives, and be together with their families. Mexicans are the people, who appreciate the role of a family the most. They can be challenged by a number of things, but nothing can change the relations that are developed within families. The Mexicans have huge families to be provided with food, water, clothes, places for living, etc. Adults and some young people agree to different jobs just to increase the family income neglecting the fact that the majority of the options are harmful to their health (Becoming American 2008).
Some Mexicans cannot even notice how harmful the American style is. The episode shows that a number of Americans and migrants spend much time working and undergo the challenges of social isolation (Becoming American 2008). Within 20 years, almost all migrants, who had one of the best health conditions when they arrived, have a high blood pressure, diabetes, heart problems, and high obesity rates. It may be explained by low-paying jobs, bad schools, American diets and habits, discrimination, and inappropriate housing. Some people cannot even understand what they are doing in this country and what made them leave their native land (Becoming American 2008).
The final salient point impacting health care is the necessity to meet the needs of the American style of life and be able to pay bills, buy food, and have enough clothes to wear. During the last two decades, more than 7.5 million Mexican immigrants came to America officially (Zong & Batalova, 2014). It is hard to guess how many illegal Mexicans can be found in the USA. Though some migrants have access to special communities within which the current problems and necessities are discussed, not all people are able to get this kind of support. As a result, people suffer from depression, the inability to follow their personal needs and frustration from the American Dream being so mercantile and far from truth issue. There are so many Mexicans, who understand that not all their intentions to change their lives and use American as a means to achieve the success can be justified at expense of their health and inabilities to enjoy the life as it becomes shorter.
In general, all issues that have been identified in the episode Unnatural Causes: Becoming American help to realize that not all cases of Mexican immigration can be justified in case the health problems should be discussed. It is hard and challenging to achieve success in a new country without neglecting family responsibilities or needs. Nowadays, it is not a difficult task for a Mexican to become an American. Still, the question remains to be the same: whether these changes are necessary.
References
Rios, P.G. & Rodriguez, M.T. (Executive Producer). (2008). Becoming American. Unnatural causes [DVD]. Arlington County, VA: PBS.
Wilson, R. (2009). Social status has measurable effect on health. Common Dreams. Web.
Zong, J. & Batalova, J. (2014). Mexican immigrants in the United States. Migration Policy Institute. Web.