Sample Essay 3

Stephanie Ann Lewis

April 18, 2007

Latino Theology and the Christian Tradition

“The Unnamed Woman: Justice, Feminists, and the Undocumented Woman”

Giving the Unnamed Woman a Name … and a Voice

When I first read Daisy Machado’s paraphrased version of the Biblical narrative from Judges 19, I did not believe it was actually from the Bible. It seemed too graphic, too cruel, and too horrifying. It wasn’t until I opened my Bible and read the chapter for myself that I really took in what the narrative was saying, both the explicit action of the story and the implicit lessons to be learned from it. Such were my reactions to Machado’s article itself, “The Unnamed Woman: Justice, Feminists, and the Undocumented Woman.” When I first read it, I did not believe that circumstances and situations such as those described are really as prevalent and pressing as Machado articulates them in the article. But upon finishing the reading and reflecting, I realized that Machado was right: no news is good news for me when it comes to the plight of the undocumented female immigrants of the borderland region of the United States. While I had scanned the titles of several articles, read about rallies and protests, and even saw a brief feature on the news about new immigration legislation and enforcement, the reports were peripheral and fleeting to my attention. However, the article presented the information in a way that not only caused the issue to reignite in my thoughts, but made it hit close to home and stay there; it affected me in a way any article about undocumented immigrants had never before. Daisy L. Machado has certainly succeeded in giving a face, voice, and name to the unnamed, undocumented immigrant women of the United States.

Machado begins her discussion of justice and the undocumented woman by first framing the position of this woman using the concubine woman from the powerful Biblical narrative of the “unnamed woman” in Judges 19, and then using a personal narrative of a real female “illegal alien” living in the United States. The author uses the Judges 19 narrative as a “biblical paradigm” for the South Texas, Latino world she knows and in which the undocumented woman lives (161). Machado then parallels the Bible story by offering a personal narrative of an undocumented woman named Elena. Both accounts are violent and disturbing, and they share many of the same “horrific elements”: the inability of the women to control their own futures, their disposability by the men who use them after each has served her purpose, the lack of recognition of their humanity, and their feelings of powerlessness, vulnerability, and solitude after their attacks (169). These characteristics describe and abound in the reality of life for the unnamed woman.

Machado juxtaposes the Biblical narrative in a contemporary setting with the story of Elena to point out the perilous and challenging situation of the undocumented immigrant woman. She then goes on to describe the border, “a place where human lives are in a very real way trapped…in a reality that is filled with human suffering, poverty, neglect, and despair” (169). It becomes the stage on which struggles, violence, and terror haunt the unnamed woman. The author enters into an interesting discussion of the causes of migration to the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, which provide a worthy context for the story of Elena and the situation of countless other “illegal aliens” on whose behalf Machado writes. She elaborates on Rubén Martínez’s idea of America’s “love/hate relationship” with Latino immigrants along the border, which I found to be personally relevant and extremely interesting in describing relationships between two groups of people (170).

 The final section of the article deals with a justice paradox. It is riveting and emotive because it connects the story of the unnamed woman, both Biblical and real, to a challenge that faces us all, especially women – the struggle for justice. Machado explains that the conversations and concerns about justice in this country are painstakingly incomplete because while women’s supporters include the matters of sexism in the workplace, marriage and family, work-life balance, gender discrimination in the whole of society, and other women’s issues, they fail to even mention the plight of the undocumented and marginalized immigrant women in American society. “There is a blind spot in our discourse on justice that does not allow us to see the vast number of truly voiceless and unnamed undocumented immigrant women who live within this nation’s borders” (173). Machado goes on to say that these women are living with such “fear, humiliation, exploitation, poverty, and even physical abuse” that we are forced to question how society can allow such a situation of injustice to exist. Theologians have rarely if ever treated the undocumented woman specifically, Machado points out, due to the limited perspectives of many women and feminists within their “culturally and historically shaped social location[s]” (173-4). A call to action ends the article, where Machado states that the undocumented female immigrants must be included in social analyses, and that we all are to adhere to the Biblical advice that follows the Judges 19 narrative and take what we have read, consider our options, and do something (174).

Due to our recent class discussions, after reading this article I thought immediately of the strong tendency in Latino theology to connect Biblical figures and their narratives with our lives and the situations we face. For example, we conversed about Good Friday celebrations and how the struggles of Mary and Jesus can shed light on a community’s present reality. The suffering and death of Jesus are reflected in the suffering of a community after losing youth to gang violence. The shared elements and conclusions drawn between the Biblical narrative of the Levite’s concubine and Elena’s story further highlight this connection. Latino theology often engages the Bible to explore or enlighten the harshness of our realities, and the same holds true in Machado’s article. We accept the unnamed woman concubine as one of our sisters, just as we do the undocumented female immigrant, because “like us they are created in the image of God” (162). We can use the imperatives offered at the end of Judges 19 in our own lives, regardless of our situation, to process what has happened to us, consider different actions to take, and respond.

A second critical analysis would be more of a synthesis of Machado’s article. The author recapitulates and summarizes many of the concepts and themes we have treated over the course of the semester. This, in my opinion, is extremely significant to our study of Latino theology because it demonstrates that these concepts and themes are able to be applied to a specific, contemporary issue that may not seem at first directly connected to Latino religion. Consciously or not, Machado touches on every section we studied in ¡Presente! The colonial period of Spanish conquest comes to mind when the author mentions the concubine’s “position of powerlessness over [her] own fate” (164). The Native Americans had virtually no recourse against the powerful invasions the Spanish conquistadores enacted. While they attempted to protect their culture and traditions, often practicing them in secret outside of the missions, it soon became nearly impossible to perpetuate their previous lifestyle. In other words, they, too, experienced this “powerlessness.” Machado goes on to explain that during the time of the U.S. conquest of northern Mexico, a new concept of U.S. nationalism was developed – one that was linked to ideas of belonging and eliminating or conquering outsiders. This nationalism is still reflected in many Americans’ ideas about immigration, for, as the author points out, nationalism’s “hold on the United States has been difficult to eliminate.” The fact that many individuals in the principal culture see immigrants as unwanted or unwelcome is proof of this point (171). The enduring communities of faith are mentioned when Machado discusses the history of Texas and the Mexican people who already lived in the U.S. when the border moved west. These people endured challenges of racism, segregation, and poverty, not to mention the struggles they faced in attempting to maintain their Spanish-speaking Roman Catholic traditions (171). Immigrants and exiles are central to Machado’s argument, as many (but not all) of them make up the group of undocumented individuals living in the United States. She writes, “Coming across the US-Mexico border were not just immigrants looking for a better economic future for themselves and their families, but a displaced people ravaged by war and military violence” (171). Elena is one member of the displaced people seeking safety and a better life inside U.S. borders. However, “undocumented” often means “unprotected,” and we can clearly see the vulnerabilities of these people in the often dangerous borderlands. Additionally, these immigrants and exiles, who have already endured so much in coming into the United States however they can, are often not met with open arms, but rather discrimination, exploitation, and deprivation of rights. Therein enters the last component – the struggle for justice. Latinos around the nation continue to face these struggles as they have for most of their history in the United States. Justice is one of the largest components of Machado’s argument, and she highlights how immigrants, more specifically undocumented women, are overlooked in justice discourses, theology, and society. They are the “ultimate outsiders” at the absolute farthest margins of society, and the most difficult thing is that their struggles for justice are often not even considered by groups supposedly working towards eliminating injustice.

I have two main critiques of the article. The first is Machado’s omission of viable alternatives or possible courses of action to address the issues she presents. She explains that the situation of the undocumented immigrant woman must be included in social analyses because she is an integral yet unrecognized part of “the lifestyle of comfort and privilege so many enjoy in this country” (173). As a young, white, American woman who lives in this “lifestyle of comfort and privilege,” what can I do? Besides speaking out on the part of the unnamed woman when the opportunity is presented to me – in class discussions, seminars, and the like – what can I personally do in the here and now to make a voice heard, give a name to an undocumented immigrant woman, and bring attention to this matter? I feel that Machado’s article, while informative and stirring, could have been more successful and poignant if she would have offered readers a series of options or ideas for action on how to improve this lack of consideration for these women.

Machado writes, “As long as women uncritically hold to and accept the belief in the legitimacy of national borders, the scholarship and social analysis they make about justice and about the community of women in the nation will be incomplete” (174). I understand the need to rethink of the border as a region, as Machado explains near the beginning of her article. However, asking women to completely reject “the legitimacy of national borders” and effective enforcement of the border seems rather extreme. Although it is virtually impossible to be completely informed of the issue after reading only one article, I feel that I have a good grasp of the situation of the undocumented female immigrant after reading Machado’s position. It caught my interest in this topic to the point of provoking me to do continuing research and keep up with current events. Additionally, I find it now impossible to think about women’s issues of justice in the United States without considering the circumstances of this group of unnamed women Machado presents, where I never would have considered this group before. I have not rejected the legitimacy of national borders nor the enforcement of said borders, yet I am still willing and able to support and be conscious of the struggles for justice of these women.

This article, as I’ve noted, touches on all of the main themes we covered in ¡Presente!, which has undeniable significance as to its broader meaning. Moreover, Machado’s descriptions of the difficulties immigrants face upon entering into the United States is very reminiscent of the chapter we read entitled “Corazón Destrozado – The Crushed Heart: The Dynamics of Mexican Emigration and Immigration.” This chapter described in great detail the specific obstacles and dangers faced by an immigrant as he or she journeys through the desert to the other side of the border. It also can extend on Machado’s statement about the heart-wrenching decision of many Latinos to migrate: “It must be made clear that every decision to leave one’s country is a difficult one and not made lightly” (171). The previous article describes the emotional, spiritual, mental, and physical costs of immigration on the individual. In addition, the video we watched in class entitled “Dying to Live” shed more light on the difficulties of the journey of undocumented immigrants.

Another exploration of wider significance would lead to the “call to justice” we have seen before in the actions of faith-based community organizations. The relation to the Bible’s call to action (the three imperatives that conclude Judges 19) within these organizations is reflected in that they have considered what they have seen in their communities or parishes, taken counsel on what action to pursue by forming organized groups, and responded in the community together to solve problems and try to create a better world. Groups such as the Joint Ministry Project (JMP), Communities Organized for Public Service (COPS), and the Pacific Institute for Community Organizing (PICO) have heard the call to action for justice and solutions in the community, as mentioned by Timothy Matovina in his article, “Latino Catholics and American Public Life.” COPS is the benchmark for a Latino faith-based community organization as it has experienced a “long series of successful efforts at development and revitalization of neighborhoods” in San Antonio, Texas (60). It is Machado’s intent to inspire people to come together with their shared beliefs and aspirations for attentiveness to the injustices faced by undocumented female immigrants in the United States in hopes they will begin to address the core issues and help women such as Elena and her small children.

Through the narrative of Elena, Machado does indeed give one unnamed woman a name in hopes she and the issue of immigration will become real and more salient and important to us. For me, this is a common idea and theme which has been explored on every level. It was not until I read the personal narratives in the ¡Presente! documents that I truly became aware of the issues that face countless individuals in our country both today and in the past. I had never imagined the longing for one’s homeland that a Cuban or Salvadoran exile feels when displaced from their native country. I could not fathom being rejected by the only constant thing in my life in a new place, the Church, because I looked different and spoke a different language, when I came only knowing the love of God and that He would take care of me. I had read about the plight of migrant workers, but never knew of their frequent breakdowns due to the distance from their family or sense of loneliness that festers within them upon entering illegally into the United States, which is a traumatic and life-threatening journey in itself. Reading the personal narratives of individuals who have experienced these events makes them real. It gives them names and faces that will stay with me and not allow me to forget what I know when I see a news story, hear about a recent development, or read a statistic. In this way, all of the ¡Presente! documents, and for that matter all of the supplementary sources we have used so far this semester, functioned as opportunities to link what we know to a name, a face, an experience, or some dimension that makes it not only real, but lasting.