My father came from a very poor family of eleven children, which made their. a very young age and in some way or another everyone was expected to

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Bennett Sullivan
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1 Topic: The Immigration Act of 1986 Abstract: My father came from a very poor family of eleven children, which made their economic struggles a lot harder to deal with. All the children began working from a very young age and in some way or another everyone was expected to contribute to the household expenses. As my father grew older he decided to venture to the U.S., seeing that it was the only option for a better life. Through his experience in the U.S. he dealt with a lot of dangers and harsh hours and working conditions. The Immigration Act of 1986 rewarded all of his sacrifices and it also contributed to better the life of his family back home. Key Words: Father, Economic Struggles, Immigrating, Human Smugglers, Cross Illegally, Border Patrol, Land of Opportunity, 1986 Immigration and Reform Act, Permanent Residency, Amnesty My father was born the fifth out of eleven children in Sonora, Mexico. Due to my grandparent s financial status, my dad and his older siblings could not afford to go to school. Instead, they had to help in contributing to the household expenses from a very young age. My dad was taken out of school at the age of seven, right after he completed second grade and with barely any knowledge of how to read or write he was expected to help at home. The older children had to work alongside my grandparents while my dad and his brother took care of the younger kids and the chores such as cooking and cleaning the house. A little after my dad had turned ten, my grandpa abandoned my grandma and the kids. My grandfather moved out of the state and married another woman. As a result, the economic struggles at home extremely increased. Since wages were very low every family member s

2 contribution was important, but even with the financial help of the older children the money wasn t enough and my dad had to join as well. Like my uncles, my dad also worked in the strawberry fields. They did different types of tasks, but all included being under extreme weather conditions. During the summers, they had to deal with excessive heat waves and during the winters they dealt with rain, cold and icy waters. My dad told me that they did not like working because it was very exhausting for them especially because they were very young, but that they had no other choice. The Mexican government offered no financial aid to the poor and if people didn t work they would literally starve. As my dad grew older he began to separate from his brothers, looking for better job options. When he turned twelve he started working for a wealthy rancher who had a lot of cattle and horses. At the ranch my dad was in charge of taking care of the horses and despite his age he was very knowledgeable and always knew what to do. Despite everyone s hard work and contributions, the money wasn t enough and it was only used for bare necessities. After years of constant work my father realized that immigrating to the United Sates was the only option to better their situation. By doing so he believed he would find a decent work from which he could help the family back home. He felt this would give a better life to his younger siblings and maybe an opportunity for them to continue their education. At last, with only fifteen years of age my dad and a friend since birth decided to venture to the United States. Although he was so young my grandmother did not try to stop him or persuade him to stay in Mexico. In the past the border was not as dangerous as it has now become. People would still hire human smugglers or polleros in order to cross illegally to the U.S. Since there was not as much border security as there is now, the methods were much cheaper and less dangerous. My dad explained that once they decided to come to the U.S. they headed towards Tijuana where

3 they too, searched for a pollero to cross them safely to the country. The polleros charged as much as $200 to $300 dollars per person and once the journey had started it only took hours to cross the desert. After arriving safely to the country people were hidden in trucks in order to be taken to their family members. This helped to prevent people from being deported by law enforcements at check points. In one occasion after my dad and uncle had crossed the border they were hidden in a wooden box inside an old van. The pollero had removed the seats of the van and built a hole underneath the carpet where the wooden box was placed. Over the box they would stack old tires or boxes to cover the hole, most border patrols didn t even think to move the boxes. After my dad and his friend crossed the border they settled in California were there was a need for lemon and orange pickers. They were paid $12.50 per van and even though it was not much money my dad tried to send as much money as he could back to Mexico. Many of the landowners would pay them below minimum wage because they knew the people were working illegally. Landowners and managers would take advantage of undocumented workers because they knew they had no choice, but to take whatever wages they could get. Although they worked in California earning below minimum wages the earnings were still much higher than those of Mexico. My dad explained to me that being undocumented, people often meant they would have to put up with harsh working conditions along with low wages. Most immigrants were easily controlled by their employer, who would threaten to call the Border Patrol, La Migra as they referred to them, if they complained about their work conditions. Only after working for six to eight months my dad and many other workers were caught by the border patrol while picking lemons. My dad was deported to the Mexican border with no money or food, in order to get back to Michoacán he had to hitchhike. He told me that at one point, he was standing at a gas station

4 and asked a truck driver if he could wash the semi-truck for money in order to buy his ticket back to his town. The trucker agreed and my father washed his truck with buckets of water from the gas station. After a couple of days without eating or drinking my dad was able to get back to Michoacán. My dad stayed in Mexico for some time to save money for his return travel to the U.S. The second time my dad came to the U.S. his three older brothers came with him and together they were able to financially help my grandma in Mexico. Since the border patrol was constantly patrolling my dad was constantly in fear of deportation. For the Border Patrols it was very easy to tell who the illegal workers were because they were always the first ones to run and hide. My dad caught on to this quickly and as the border patrol was arriving he acted normal and looked to them with no fear. My father looked to his brothers and told them not to run and to keep working. That time my dad and his brothers were left alone and they continued working the rest of the day. My dad and his family were not the only ones who had immigrated to the United States. Decades before them waves of foreign born people also immigrated to the U.S. This was due to the country s expansion and prosperity. The Economic Boom of the 1920 s drew millions of people to the United States in search of a better life. Many escaped from religious persecutions and others from political or economic troubles. To many the U.S was not only the land of opportunity it was also the land of freedom and justice. Whichever the case, the U.S was seen as the escape to their financial, political or religious problems. Over the years, the inflow of illegal immigrants kept on increasing and as it did, so did the fear of citizens being outnumbered. In response to this, President Reagan signed the 1986 Immigration and Reform Act. The Immigration and Reform Act was written to focus on three

5 main actions: 1) tighten the security at American borders 2) give amnesty to the undocumented people working in America prior to 1982 and 3) higher fines to employers who continued to hire undocumented workers after the Act was signed. My father and his brothers gathered all the necessary information to prove they had been living and working in America prior to Once they had all the information they submitted it to the US Government and were granted permanent residency. My father later told me that many people in Mexico rushed to America to fraudulently prove they had been in America prior to Many of the employers would sell fraudulent letters stating people had worked for them for many years. He said that most of the people who fraudulently received the amnesty quickly returned to Mexico and kept the residency in order to have the option to go back and forth. After years of hard work and dedication to his family my father was finally receiving his reward, one step closer to the American dream. My father was now a permanent resident of the U.S., something many people today only dream of having. He no longer had to fear being deported or worry about visiting his siblings and mother. More importantly he was now protected by American work laws and could receive the legal wages. My father worked most of the year in the U.S., but when he was in Mexico he met my mother. My parents were married in Mexico and after my sibling and I were born they applied for permanent residency for us. We all moved to the U.S. in 2003 and my father was very proud to be able to bring his family legally. I am an American today thanks to not only my father but also to the 1986 Immigration Reform Act.

Working for a Better Tomorrow. The hot sun burning the skin of the workers around me. I have to keep picking because I

Working for a Better Tomorrow. The hot sun burning the skin of the workers around me. I have to keep picking because I Mena 1 Imelda Mena Pat Holder/ Paul Lopez Working for a Better Tomorrow The hot sun burning the skin of the workers around me. I have to keep picking because I need to be able to feed my family." This