Open Letter

Dear Valley Residents,

Here is a story I like you to read that highlights certain aspects I learned about Mexican individuals migrating to the United States in my Migration and Culture Class. The interviewee is a fictitious character but what the character talks about could take place in real life. Hope you enjoy it.

Hi, I am Flory Holmes. I am a news reporter for Channel

22. I am interviewing Juan Medina who was an undocumented worker in Arizona for 3 years and was deported last year. Juan has agreed to talk to me about his two trips to Arizona and what happened

when he arrived here.

F: Juan, Did you try to migrate to the U.S. legally? Tell me what happened.

J: Yes, Flory , I did. I applied for a visa. I told myself it will probably take a year to receive it. So, I waited and 2 years passed. I called the INS office and they told me that they could not find my name on the list. I was frustrated.

F: What did you do next?

J: I couldn't wait anymore. I barely could keep food on my family's table. Also, I am raising my brother's two children because he died trying to get to California walking through the desert. Very sad. He was only 10 miles away. His death should have stopped me from trying to do the same thing but that's the only option I had at the time.

F: Can you tell me about your journey through the desert?

J: I went with some friends. We started early in the morning one day in September. We live in Nogales so we didn't think the walk would be long. Also, we didn't feel we would face any problems. However, I would say that we had probably walked 10 miles when we encountered 4 men in front of a ranch and they held us at gun point.

F: What did they say to you?

J They said that we were trespassing on their property, but we never set foot on their ranch. They told us that they were a part of a group called Ranch Rescue. We had heard about vigilantes, people whose job is to stop Latinos from crossing the border. We told them that we wanted to go to Arizona to find work to feed our families.

F: What did they do to you?

J: They took us inside the house and tied us down in a chair. They then started to verbally abuse us. We asked them to give us water and instead of giving the water for us

to drink they poured it on us. They left us there fore 2 days, with no food or anything. They were so mean to us I thought surely they would kill us. They finally told us that they would take us to the Border Patrol Station, so they drove us there in a truck with our feet and hands still tied down. When we arrived at Border Patrol Station, none of the agents said anything about the position in which we came. Again, we were harassed by the Border Patrol Agents. They wouldn't let us use the restroom. They made racist comments like we don't want your brown skin to rub off on us so we are not going to let you use our restroom. After six hours of interrogation, they sent us back to Nogales.

F: What avenue did you make for your next try?

J: I heard about coyotes, people who smuggle humans across the border.  My uncle told me that the coyotes would charge me $2,000 to pick me up on the border and drive me to Phoenix.  My relatives did not have enough money. I was able to get a fake visa from a woman who was selling them near the shops in Nogales. My second attempt to get to Arizona was successful.

F: Did you find steady work right away?

J: No, l didn’t. I stood outside the Home Depot store like the other Latinos. Some nice couples would let me do yard work for them. After a year, a man approached me and asked me if I wanted to work for his construction business. I said yes. With that job I was apartment with 3 other guys and send money home to my family. I also gave money to a fund that was going to build a park in my community

F: So tell me Juan, what happened on that particular day that again led you back to your homeland?                                                              

J: I was walking down the street to get a loaf of bread from Bashas when I noticed there were a lot of police officers interrogating Latinos on the sidewalk. My first instinct was to run but I knew that would cause attention. So, I turned around to walk back to my apartment but they were also in my neighborhood. As I was approaching the entrance to my apartment complex, a police officer stopped me. He asked me if I had any identification on me to show that I was a citizen. I said no. So I was a part of the chandler Round-up where police officers invaded neighborhood to find undocumented workers to deport them.                                                                  

F: Are you ever going to migrate again to make sure you stay?

J: I am going to try as many times that I have to. I want to do everything I can to become a citizen m the U.S. I want to bring my family over as well.

I have become more knowledgeable about immigrants crossing the border by taking this class. There were various issues I did not know about. I would recommend this

class to anyone.

Yours truly,

Flory Holmes

P.S.  Here is a website you might want to check out:   Dying to Work