HDFS 474 Final Project

Rosalinda Salazar is the first person I had the pleasure of interviewing. She is the mother of two American citizens: Victoria (12) and Kirsten (9). Originally from the heart of Mexico City, Rosa immigrated to the U.S. in 2002 at the age of 19 with her husband, Alex Salazar. 

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Although Rosa was attending a university in Mexico and had a decent job, she and her husband both knew that they wanted a better life for themselves, and for their eventual children: "everything they have here (the U.S.), they wouldn't have in Mexico. Rosa didn't want her children to grow up somewhere with an unstable government, a very small middle class, and few advanced job opportunities.

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Both Rosa and her husband knew that coming here legally would force her and Alex to take on low-paying jobs and put off having children due to financial instability. When asked about crossing the border, Rosa got quiet for a moment. After paying a coyote a large sum of money and traveling to Tijuana, she and her husband waited for the call. Days later, they got a call around midnight telling them that it was time. Rosa would have to cross the border by foot with her husband and 7 other men in the middle of the night. She packed a small backpack and never looked back. The group walked for 8 hours before stopping to rest. After staying in Arizona for a few days, Rosa and her husband traveled to Illinois to look for work.

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Rosa was fortunate enough to have friends living in Illinois at the time that offered them a place to stay while they got themselves situated. During my research, I found that Illinois is the top state of residence for Hispanic immigrants within the Midwest, which was a surprise to me (Flores, López & Radford, 2017). Within six days of getting to Illinois, they both had jobs and started to save up for a car and their own apartment. After four months, they bought their first car and two months later, put a security deposit down for their first apartment. Alex worked as a laborer/landscaper for my father at Royal Gardens Landscaping. Rosa worked at a restaurant bussing tables and eventually worked her way up to an executive chef position in a mid-size restaurant. Their first daughter, Victoria, was born four years after they arrived in the U.S. Three years later, they had their second daughter, Kirsten. I found out during this interview that Kirsten was named after me because of how close she and Alex got to my family and I during their first few years here. 

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Rosa's brother also lives in the U.S. and is currently located in Baltimore, Maryland. The rest of her family still lives in Mexico and she hasn't seen any of them in person since she left 15 years ago. This has been unbelievably challenging for her and she mentioned that she wished her brother lived closer, especially now that her husband is stuck in Canada. The distance between them requires taking public transportation which she isn't comfortable with. 

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Rosa has faced many personal challenges since moving to the U.S. She explained that it is very difficult to find good-paying work without documentation. She has stayed at the same job since she came here because she has worked hard to get to where she is. She is proud of the work that she does, and doesn't face discrimination in her workplace, which did not exactly surprise me because of my knowledge on work outcomes in Mexican-American women: ethnicity tends to "fade into whiteness in direct proportion to the esteem in which her (white) boss holds for her" (Smith 2008). Her boss is extremely thankful for Rosa and her hard work. Rosa says that he has been extremely kind and accommodating, helping her navigate life as an undocumented person in this country. At times she has had to take on additional jobs to put food on the table and make rent. Rosa mentioned that it is extremely difficult to buy a house, apply for a credit car or even buy a car. Although possible, loans are almost impossible to obtain and interest rates are much higher than what is typical.

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When it comes to her family, Rosa deals with many challenges on a daily basis. Three years ago, her husband was visiting his ill grandmother in Mexico. He tried to return to the U.S. for weeks and eventually gave up. He went to Canada for work instead and has been there ever since. Rosa has had to raise her children alone, and her girls haven't seen their father for a good part of their lives. Rosa says she doesn't fear getting deported because she knows what to expect, but she worries for her children because they will not have nearly the same opportunities they have here. Unlike documented families, Rosa and her daughters don't take vacations or travel outside of the state, especially after they were stopped by police in Ohio when returning from visiting Rosa's brother.

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Rosa has nothing but love for the U.S. and has no plans to go back to Mexico. When I asked her what she disliked about the U.S., her response surprised me:

 

"I don't dislike anything about the U.S., I deal with a lot of racist people that think I'm here to take their jobs. I'm not taking anyone's job, if they want a job they can go out and get one. I work hard for my family, I don't take hand-outs, I just want to provide for my girls and give them what I couldn't have and living in the U.S. will do that."

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She mentioned that President Trump's comment about Mexican immigrants being "criminals and rapists" bothers her because many people who come to this country are fleeing the crime they deal with on a consistent basis in Mexico, something she doesn't want her children to deal with.

 

Rosa was worried when Trump was elected and actually sat her children down to talk about the implications. They created a contingency plan. If Rosa did not return from work within a designated amount of time, the girls should assume that she was stopped by immigration. From there, the girls first call my parents, then their grandmother in Mexico. They have a safe in the house that includes their birth certificates, a stack of money, and other important documents they may need. My parents have agreed to watch over the girls until Rosa returns, if this ever were to happen.

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However, Rosa has come to know a lot of wonderful people in this country including: my father and stepmother, her current boss, and a neighbor in her apartment complex. Her current boss offered to sponsor her in hopes of getting her temporary residence in the U.S. and even connected her with an immigration lawyer, but it didn't end up panning out. 

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Though she has no plans to return to Mexico, Rosa said that Alex is working diligently to get them residency in Canada and start the process to return to the United States. If that plan doesn't work, Rosa said she may just have to wait until Victoria turns 21, so that she can petition for Rosa to become a resident. 

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I've known Rosa since I was 6 years old but I learned more about her in the hour I talked with her than I ever knew. She has endured so much in her short life but you would never know by looking at her. She is one of the most hard-working, wonderful individuals I have ever met and I am very lucky to know her. 

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Citation:

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Smith, R. C. (2008). Gender, Ethnicity, and Race in School and Work Outcomes of Second-Generation Mexican       Americans. In Latinos: Remaking America (pp. 110-121). CA: University of California Press.

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Flores, A., López, G., & Radford, J. (2017). Facts on U.S. Latinos, 2015. Pew Research Center's Hispanic Trends Project. Retrieved 17 December 2017, from http://www.pewhispanic.org/2017/09/18/facts-on-u-s-latinos-trend-data/

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