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Valeria Saucedo Ojeda English 114B @ 2 Professor Gifford March 16, 2013 Santa Maria: Space and Change

When exploring a space for the first time, the mind automatically scans the layout, peoples behaviors, and arrives to a conclusion based on their personal interpretation. This assumption can be greatly changed when finding out the history of a certain area. California is a well-known state that holds a melting pot of cultures all which contribute to the variety of usage of the land. To many, it is a land of opportunity which signifies somewhere worth fighting for because they can have security and a chance to fulfill their dreams. Even though California is represented as having favorable living conditions, there is still much tension associated with race and power. By excluding immigrants from having a say in government, whites are gaining power over them and making it clear that they are unwanted in the area. The agricultural based city of Santa Maria, California is experiencing a rising conflict between migrant workers and white residents due to corporate and government exploitation of immigrants. The separation between the locations of jobs has formed borders in the small city of Santa Maria because of race. There are 70.4% Hispanics that make up the population, in which as much as 33% are not documented (United States Census). Immigrants are always seen working jobs that require little or no skills. Gloria Anzaldua, author of The Homeland Aztln states that After Anglo agribusiness corporations cheated the small Chicano landowners of their land, the corporations hired gangs of mexicanos to pull out the brush, chaparral and cactus and to

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irrigate the desert (31). In South Texas, there was a similar situation where the Mexicans were used to work the most difficult, low wage jobs in the fields. The jobs are very limited to migrants because whites prevent them from using their skills to have a more variety of work options. Santa Maria is formed into divisions classified by ethnicity which to whites and immigrants, each have their own perceptions of it. Orcutt, a part of the city located in the South, is somewhere many of the whites gather together to live comfortably and separate themselves from the Hispanics and the rest of the city. Looking at the history of the Santa Maria area, vineyards, farmland, and wineries were owned and worked by whites and the city encouraged many people to live there because of the good rich soil; these people viewed it as a land of their own that was filled with opportunities for power and wealth (City of Santa Maria History). In the article Making Sense of the City: Place, Space, and Rhetoric in Portlands Pioneer Courthouse Square by Erin Daina Mcclellan, an interpretation of a specific area is recognizing the multiplicity of possibilities, including verbal, written, and performative aspects that collectively comprise a rhetoric in and about a public square (2). An area can have both a meaning of space which has a historical connection or a place that signifies somewhere with neutral perceptions. Whites see Santa Maria as important because they feel the urge to continue to have control over it while immigrants see it as a land where a new culture and society can be formed. The immigrant communities spread throughout the city have intensified the tension of suspicion for public safety due to current statistics of crime. FBIs 2012 crime report stated that Santa Maria made the top ten most violent California city list with a crime rate of 6.78 violent crimes per 1,000 residents (Santa Maria Times). Since most of the people living there are immigrants, whites blame them for the societal issues happening. Many of them do not have legal papers to be in the U.S. but even though they are here, they do try to maintain a low profile

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because if they get caught, they will get deported (Santa Maria Times). In response to the racism they get from whites, they have formed their own communities to live in in order to be able to help each other. Because they live in housing projects, it is assumed that they are dangerous people. It is not only here in Santa Maria that this issue of segregation could be related to but also to areas that have different ethnicities living together which has led to assumptions based on the separation of communities. The construction of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) facility in 2014 has created an atmosphere filled with fear in Santa Maria. Still going through the process of being discussed by the city council, there have been many protests formed by undocumented people which have been one of the largest ever seen in the city (Santa Maria Times). Despite these strong voices in the public, ICE responds with assuring them that they are only there because the location is better for easy transfers of criminals to jails. The book Rhetoric for Radicals, written by Jason Del Gandio conveys how a vibe is a form of communication that with a large group of people, intensifies in communicating an emotion (171). A vibe is given off by a single human body, but when it is grouped together with others who possess the same passion, it produces a vibe that spreads throughout the space; the immigrants are still skeptical due to the fact that past sweeps have been conducted by the immigration centers. Additionally, the new location of the ICE center from Lompoc to Santa Maria is detrimental to the city because the fear being caused will more likely make the immigrants become more suspicious of the government. Recently in the news, James Murr, who opposes the issue spoke up it is irrational to move only 45 minutes away from the Lompoc, into a residential area with a medical center, businesses and shops (Santa Maria Times). Lompoc, where the old center is located at, is a smaller, calmer city which is ideal to have this kind of center. In

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comparison, Santa Maria is not far from Lompoc, contradicting the reason for better distance that ICE gave to the public. Imposing immigration centers and ignoring the peoples opinions in the area is a clear indication that the certain group, in this case illegal immigrants, are wanted out of the area, thus being a form of racism that the government enacts. Along with heated debate in the small city, the economy plays a big role in how whites feel superior and a need to be in control of the economy. Taking in mind that 28.8% of the businesses are owned by Hispanics, the establishment of the ICE facility will more than likely drive the immigrants away because of fear of deportation. However, they are the ones who in the end, are sustaining the economy of Santa Maria because they work in the tough jobs such as the fields. Without the diversity of business ownership there is no doubt that the economy of the city will face great problems. Gloria Anzaldua, while describing how borders separate power, says that gringos in the U.S. Southwest consider the inhabitants of the borderlands trangressors, aliens-whether they possess documents or not, whether theyre Chicanos, Indians, or Blacks (25). The issue of superiority comes once you cross a border such as the one. From California and Mexico; it is here in this city where immigrants feel they are seen as less than the whites. As more immigrants are slowly coming back to the homeland from their ancestors, tensions will grow for what race will be in the dominant position in government. To sum up, Santa Maria is just one of the many examples of spaces in California where racism is visible due to the high agricultural space. The ways that whites are reacting to the silent invasion of immigration creates a wave of constant worry of who will be in control of the land.

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The migrants will continue to protest for their freedom here in the United States, but only those who see the rational reasons of why this land has become their home and they should not feel unsafe here. Without them, the economy that makes California so prosperous will go downhill if these people were to be deported. Homes, jobs, and equal representation based on ethnicity should not be obstacles for an individuals success.

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Works Cited An ald a, Gloria. Borderlands: The ew Mesti a Spinsters/Aunt Lute, 1987. Print. a Frontera. San Francisco:

Daina Mcclellan, Erin. ""Making Sense of the City: Place, Space, and Rhetoric in Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square"" Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies 4.1 (n.d.): n. pag. Mar. 2008. Web. Mar. 2014.

Gandio, Jason Del. Rhetoric for Radicals: A Handbook for 21st Century Activists. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society, 2008. Print.

"Santa Maria (city) QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau." Santa Maria (city) QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.

Santa Maria Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2014.