| Possumus Spring 2008 |
Human Migration |
One person’s story.
What does it mean to be an “illegal” immigrant in this country? It may mean exactly what you think it means: a clandestine and dangerous border crossing, constant threat of exposure, fear of deportation, years living in the shadows. But in reality, “illegal” simply means undocumented. And many undocumented immigrants don’t fit the above description at all. They are in this country without permission simply because of a bureaucratic snafu. One such person is Maria. That’s not her real name, but this is her real story.
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My grandparents were Mexicans, but they lived in the United States. My father was born in Wyoming. So I am the daughter of a United States citizen. |
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He moved to Mexico and married my mother, a Mexican, and that’s where I was born. My parents both worked, but it was a hard time. In Mexico, you work and work and you don’t make enough to live. When I was 14, my aunt traveled to California and I went with her. I had a vacation visa. All legal. I went back home, but then I wanted to travel again. I visited relatives in Minnesota. I liked it here...the downtown was nice, I liked the way the snow looked on the pine trees. For the next 20 years or so, I crossed back and forth across the border many, many times with temporary visas. Finally, I got to be an age when I thought about the future, how I wanted to be able to support myself. And I decided this time I would stay in Minnesota forever and work. This was 9 years ago. When my temporary visa was expiring, I went to immigration and explained that my father was a U.S. citizen and that makes me one, too. That is how it’s supposed to be. Automatic. I asked for a resident visa. But they said no. They told me to go away and wait. Wait for 2004 and then I would get my papers. My father came here and told them, but they didn’t care. I paid for a lawyer and he also told them I am an American citizen. But in 2008 I am still waiting. With no visa, I can’t go back to Mexico. They say I can’t work here either with no visa, but I have to. So I buy fake numbers--Social Security, green card. I have a good job now. It pays $6.25 an hour. I can make $46 dollars a day here. On that, I can live with my relatives and send money home to my parents, too. In Mexico, it would take 2 days to make $46, but it would cost more than that to live for 2 days. How are you going to do that? You can’t. I love my homeland, I do, but I blame the Mexican government. The politicians get everything and the people get nothing. So that’s why mexicanos come here, no matter how dangerous it is. We just want to work, to feed our families. We don’t think illegal or legal. We want to live a better life, that’s all.
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