HDFS 474 Final Project

Javier is a 30 year old undocumented immigrant originally from a small city called La Piedad, located in the state of Michoacan in Mexico. He came to this country when he was just 17 years old. He has lived in the U.S. for almost 15 years.

​

Javier had no intentions of coming to the United States. As a 17 year old, he wasn't quite an adult yet. He had a part-time job in Mexico, and while some of his income went towards helping his family, a good portion of it was used for 'fun.' He wasn't sure what career he wanted to pursue and was just trying to enjoy his last year or so of being a teenager before working full-time. One day, his father came home from work and told Javier that they would be moving to the U.S. within a few weeks and that he should start saying his goodbyes to his friends. Frustrated about leaving behind his friends, Javier was not excited to cross the border. He didn't know what opportunities he might come across and had poor English skills. He jokingly mentioned that his only motivation to move was a cute girl he knew from school that moved to the U.S. months prior. 

​

Javier and his father contacted a friend in the U.S. who was able to help get them across the border. They first attempted to cross the border by foot, but were quickly caught. Javier recalls that he and his father were detained at the border for 24 hours, in separate areas. Javier was in a juvenile facility while his father and their friend were detained in an adult facility. I asked Javier how long he waited between tries, expecting him to say a few weeks or months. However, his father was persistent and they tried again the day after they were released, this time in the trunk of a car. Javier said they remained inside the trunk for almost 2 hours before they were able to come out. Javier mentioned that he was 'lucky' that only he and his father were in the trunk because he had friends who had to fit 6 or more people into the trunk while crossing. 

​

Javier said he is lucky to have many family members living in the U.S. including his aunts, uncles, and many cousins. Out of all of those living here, Javier is the only one who is truly undocumented. However, his father voluntarily went back to Mexico after 12 years in the U.S. because of the discrimination and lack of opportunities he faced. Javier has no nuclear family members in the U.S. and has not seen his parents or siblings in years. However, he maintains regular contact with them through FaceTime and Skype. He mentioned that a motivator for staying in the U.S. is his parents. They are so proud of him and the opportunities he has taken advantage of.

​

After arriving in the U.S., Javier quickly got a job. In fact, he is proud to say he got his first job working in a factory after just 8 days of living here. He worked his way up in his factory job but ultimately left a few years later due to the mistreatment he received from his supervisors. He bounced around to different restaurants and ultimately landed a laborer position at my father's company in 2011 and has been with us ever since. 

​

Javier has had his fair share of challenges since moving to the U.S. He said the biggest difficulty for him is the difference in culture. Compared to whites around his same age, he says he is seen as 'old-school.' He has had a hard time adjusting to the American culture. He mentioned that it makes him uncomfortable when white people throw "Mexican parties." A challenge Javier still faces to this day is the language barrier. He had no formal experience learning English and said he has learned mostly through television and movies. He tries to read as many books as he can to improve his English reading abilities, and he is learning new words everyday. Like Rosa, Javier has a hard time purchasing cars or houses and taking out loans, but this is a small inconvenience in his mind.

​

Further, Javier says that when previous bosses have learned of his situation: living in the U.S. as an undocumented person, they tend to take advantage of him and his work. He has had far worse experiences with Mexican supervisors than white ones, which was quite a surprise to me. He consistently feels stereotyped in public, even when working at a customer's home. Javier fears that each day will be the day that he gets deported, even if he isn't doing anything wrong. He says the "feeling just follows you around, when you sleep, when you work, when you spend time with your family, while you're driving." Due to this, Javier doesn't like to spend his free time at public places like bars or sporting events, common places for men his age. 

​

Ultimately, Javier says that every so often he feels defeated, that he isn't living his life as best as he can and that he has considered giving up and moving back to Mexico. His family usually talks him out of it, telling him that he is living better here than he would be in Mexico. 

​

Despite all of these challenges, Javier says that he loves this country and the opportunities it has given him. He is thankful to work for my parents who treat him as a person instead of an illegal alien. It isn't the country that he dislikes, but the few people that look down on him and treat him poorly. 

​

Javier has not and has no plans to engage in the process of becoming a citizen, he just works hard to not draw attention to himself. His cousins and friends constantly tell him to "marry an American, have a baby with her and hope that the baby can keep him here." He says he hopes to return to Mexico eventually, but only when he has saved enough and when he feels the time is right.

​

Also like Rosa, Javier doesn't hate President Trump, but he does think that he is "all talk" and gets frustrated when Trump talks about immigrants because he has "never been as low as [them]." Javier says that just like Trump, he doesn't want criminals and bad people in this country. However, he wishes that the Trump administration would leave those who have been here for 20-30 years alone because they aren't causing trouble and they just want to be apart of this country. In a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, it was found that an astounding 55% of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. would rather work and live legally in the U.S. without the fear of deportation than have a pathway to citizenship (Lopez, Taylor, Funk & Gonzalez-Barerra, 2013). This attitude is true in Javier: he has no plans to become a citizen, but would like to continue working and living in the U.S. without worrying about deportation. 

​

Javier is another hard-working, undocumented immigrant living in a country that he has grown to love. He has developed a love for fishing, baseball, and grilling, just like many other Americans, and just wants to be treated as "one of us."

​

Per Javier's request, I did not include a current photo of him. 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Citation: 

​

 

Lopez, M. H., Taylor, P., Funk, C., & Gonzalez-Barrera, A. (2013). On Immigration Policy, Deportation Relief Seen As More Important Than Citizenship. Retrieved December 10, 2017, from http://www.pewhispanic.org/2013/12/19/on-immigration-policy-deportation-relief-seen-as-more-important-than-citizenship/