Saturday Special: Why Do Mexicans Come to the U.S.?

A random conversation reveals the catch-22 aspects of immigration that Mexicans face when coming to the U.S.

Photo by Fotos on Unsplash

When I reported for some medical tests at my local hospital, I was greeted by a young woman with friendly eyes and long, raven-black hair. At first, I thought she was one of the local Washoes or Paiute-Shoshones. As "Teresa" and I got acquainted between test set-ups, she revealed she was Hispanic.

The chit-chat then turned serious and explored the ICE kidnappings. As we shared our stories, it became clear this horror had been going on for decades.

One of my former ESL learners first came to the States at thirteen and babysat her sister's children. One day, she answered the knock at the door. Two ICE agents grabbed her and dumped her on the other side of the border without ID, cash, or any way to find a safe haven. She eventually made it back to her sister's house, but her story and others haunt me as I read the news about what's going on now.

Teresa's father and uncle were recruited to work for the railroad forty-three years ago. They soon petitioned to bring their wives and children to live in Fernley, NV where they also established a farm. Teresa grew up tending chickens, cows, horses, pigs, and even guinea fowl. Every summer, her family would visit relatives in a small village in central Mexico.

"Most of the people there had no electricity, no television. We would park our truck and not need to drive it for three months because everything we needed was right there. In the evenings, people would take lanterns into the streets and gather in groups to talk. Some people had guitars. There was always music and singing.

"It was wonderful there," Teresa said. "People had nothing, but they were happy. Here, we have so many things, but we're always angry about whatever is going on and wanting more."

"Then if people are so happy there, why do they come here?" I asked.

"It's dangerous! People are afraid to walk around town for fear they will be raped or kidnapped. The Cartels run the police, everything. It's just not safe to live there." She then told a horrific story of friends in the village who discovered sixty dismembered bodies buried in the field across from their house.

"And then there's the propaganda that everyone hears about the U.S. and how life will be better here. When they finally get here, they find out it's not true. There's so much trafficking here, too. They are told they can get an education for their children for free."

"That's not true," I said. "Even in public school, there are fees and all the things you have to buy to study." In Mexico, the public education system is free through sixth grade. To continue beyond that level, there is tuition and other costs that are prohibitive for most families.

Then Teresa stressed the dead-end aspect of living in the States that surprised me. She knew a Sparks high school student who passed all his classes with a 4.2 average. "Most of his classes were honors classes, too. He was a very talented artist, very smart, and just a beautiful soul.

"But now that he's graduated, he can't do anything with it. His parents work three jobs just to cover living expenses. There is nothing left for college. Because his parents brought him here when he was one year old, he can't get grants or student aid. It's wrong to think immigrants get so much for free. They get nothing and they work very hard for whatever they do get."

"This happens to a lot of people. They are conned by the propaganda in Mexico, but once they get here, no matter how hard they work, they never achieve the dream they were promised. They're stuck."

I asked Teresa if she feared for her and her family's safety against ICE.

"My mother told me when I was a little girl that if I didn't learn to speak English, I would be cleaning hotel rooms for the rest of my life." That became the impetuous for Teresa to become a medical technician. "I was born here at St. Mary's Hospital. This is my home, but if they deport me, it doesn't matter because I can do this job anywhere in the world. I'm okay, but my family could be deported.

"We lost my father last year, but my mother has dementia and has a live-in care provider. Her paperwork is different from my father's. Even her name is not the same and she has three birthdates. She doesn't know when she was born. But, she never leaves her house and ICE doesn't know how to find her. She's safe."

Despite efforts to earn their citizenship and build prosperous lives for their families, her brothers are under threat. One still runs the farm in Fernley, but the others took up their father's work on the railroad. If deported, they will be returned to the dangers in Mexico with no other way out of the situation.

"All they want is for their children to be safe."

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