"In The U.S.A. It's--English Or Adios Amigo" 
The goal of this research project is to examine the racialized language used by the legal system and community to depict three Mexican men as Ðcriminals.¼ This research highlights the ways in which language and cultural differences reveal underlying racial and class biases in the community of the Yakima Valley in Washington. The data are derived from the transcript of a civil-action lawsuit involving the three men and newspapers accounts of that lawsuit.

Biography

I was born in El Salvador, Central America. After living in extreme poverty for many years, my family and I migrated to the United States after the Civil War in 1990. Upon our arrival to the United States we settled in the Yakima Valley, Washington, where we all worked in the fields and warehouses. There I attended Washington Middle School in an attempt to learn English in order to help my parents in the future. My biggest dream at this time was to be able to attend an institution of higher education and help my parents get out of the fields. In 1996 the first step towards this dream was accomplished when I, the oldest child, graduated from Eisenhower High School. 

After high school graduation I did not want to move away from my family, so I started attending Yakima Valley Community College. At the same time I was working to help my parents and pay for schooling. In 1998 I received my Associates Degree in the Arts. Then in fall of the same year, I transferred to Washington State University to work on a double degree in Political Science and Comparative American Cultures. Upon graduating from WSU I hope to continue my education by studying Latin American Studies at the graduate level.

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