Lock Us Out Thesis

Alyssa Szydzik
Professor Jones
SOC 495
6 August 2023
“Lock Us Up or Lock Us Out”
“Lock us up or lock us out.” Those seven words spoken by Celo, a Mexican immigrant in the film A Better Life, encapsulate the struggle faced each second by those who come to America. As they chase the heavily rumored ‘American dream’, they awaken each day to find that the dream turns quickly into a nightmare. Within the film, viewers follow along as a father and son duo who reside in California, Carlos and Luís, try to chase the American dream. While the plot goes on, one is exposed to the dark and oftentimes hidden sides of immigration and the unjust challenges immigrants are forced to face head-on. As depicted, the two go through challenges that are true to

This is notable as this is just one simple moment in which the film tackles disproving negative stereotypes surrounding immigration, namely how often American citizens will say they refuse immigrants because of how many jobs of theirs they would be taking away and stealing. Rather, it’s clearly presented within, and supported by, the segmented labor market theory that immigrants take up jobs within a lower-tiered, second-sector subdivision, as compared to the more lavish jobs that are encompassed within the primary sector (Massey 38). Not only is this shown as Carlos works as a low-paid, lottery-like lawn service, but real-life data supports this, with an economics professor stating “We found little to no negative effects on overall wages and employment of native-born workers in the longer term,” (Blau as cited in Preston 2016). This is incredibly common as well: perhaps due to the fact that within the current wave of immigration, wave four, people were pushed to move to the U.S for the chance to work in a society full of economic opportunities, as well as commonly taking up those jobs in shortage, that American citizens themselves rarely take up. (Pedraza

As well, millions of children of immigrants are plagued with going through experiences similar to what Luís went through, as he realized how much he had to be grateful for all too late. As his father said, “I wanted you to be able to be anything you wanted to be, that would make me feel worthy.”(Weitz, 2011, 1:28:37). It is not an easy or quick choice to decide to leave everything behind, knowing that the process of becoming successful in America was risky and ultimately down to luck. Yet, Carlos, like parents from all walks of life, took that chance- all to give his son the best chance at life. But ultimately, the statement “Lock us up or lock us out” is not just some random string of words: one can give all they can, just to be tossed in a jail cell and thrown out without any further