Mexicans in China - The New 'Model Minority'?

He is living in China and working on a book titled “Unbecoming American.” He can be reached at dmigueld@gmail.com.

I’ll be honest with you: it’s going to take something exceptional to keep me in the United States. No, I’m not talking about a general amnesty. I’m not an illegal immigrant. Never was.

Allow me to explain. I lived and worked in Shanghai, China for several years. No, I’m not a Communist either. In fact, I cherish democracy, freedom and equality as much as any other patriotic U.S. citizen. And I would never give up my U.S. passport.

The funny thing is, I didn’t feel truly free until I lived in China, a closed authoritarian country. Oh how sweet freedom is!

I worked as a teacher in China, where I was seen with different eyes than in the United States. Everywhere I went, I received kind treatment, from shops to jobs to restaurants to bars. I was rich; I was educated; I was handsome. Women loved my eyelashes and my nose. Often I was confused for Italian or French. I’d smile and correct them: I’m Mexican American, while going on to explain that the United States is a land of immigrants – a fact the Chinese are very aware of.

In China I felt especially safe because someone else did all the dirty work. All the Mexicans and Mexican Americans I met were educated and bilingual. Could we be the new “model minority” – in China of all places?

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