they get judged unfairly by the employer" (Nigel 46). Because of their appearance, Mexicans get judged as all the same, as Hing speculates, as uneducated, desperate, and hardworking (124). They are even sought after by potential employers because of this. One man speaks of finding some workers for a small job, saying, "Im going to find some Mexicans for the jobtheyve got a good attitude, they work cheap, and theyre dependable" deliberately seeking out workers which he can overwork and underpay (Ungar 238).Secondly, Mexican immigrants are badly mistreated by American prejudice. Something that fuels this prejudice is called nativism, which is "an intense opposition to an internal minority on the grounds of its foreign connectionsa zeal to destroy the enemies of a distinctively American way of life" (Perea 1). Those that believe in nativism, nativists, are against immigration, and are especially against Mexican immigrants. They pose a great problem to Mexican immigrants, especially if they happen to be illegal aliens. Nativists have passed something called Proposition 187, which was to "Save Our State" by preventing "illegal aliens in the United States from receiving benefits or public services in the State of California" (Harris 61). Although this is directed only at illegal aliens, it has an effect of legal Mexican Americans too, because many just assume by appearance that if one looks Mexican then he or she is an illegal alien. California Senator Craven even was quoted saying "the state legislature should explore requiring all people of Hispanic descent to carry and identification card that would be used to verify legal residence" (Against). This same Senator was later again quoted saying more horrible things about Mexicans, that "migrant workers are on a lower scale of humanity" (Against). Mexicans also face a mass amount of disrespect because of their financial status, as if people fail to realize that they are coming here...
