Chapter 13: The Border and Human Rights—A Testimony by Roberto L. Martinez
Key Questions
- How did Roberto Martinez’s life affect his involvement with immigrant rights?
- What event made Roberto get involved in immigrant rights?
- What was the nature of the anti-immigrant atmosphere in San Diego in 1980s?
- What kind of organizations were there working for immigrant rights in the 1980s?
- What was IRCA and how did it affect Mexican immigrants in San Diego?
- What kind of danger did Roberto face because of his activisim?
- What actions did the AFSC take to help immigrant rights?
- How did September 11th affect immigrant rights?
- Why are immigrants dying crossing the border?
- How is San Diego a testing ground for immigration policies?
- What new policies did the American Friends Service Committee begin in the new millennium 2000?
- What is Roberto’s critique of the criminal justice system?
- What challenges are there for Chicanos, Mexicanos and Latinos in the future?
Introduction
This chapter focuses on the recent historical record involving human and civil rights issues confronting Chicanos/Mexicanos in San Diego. It seeks to tell the truth about the human cost of Mexican immigration and take a critical look back at the historical and political realities in Southern California in the last part of the twentieth century. The story is told through the testimonio or life story of Roberto Martinez, a life-long advocate of civil rights for Mexican Americans and Mexicans. The struggle for immigrant rights is also one for Chicano rights as Roberto makes clear.
