Like all immigrants, I still remember it as if it was yesterday when I got here. My mom got divorced in 2006. After 14 years of being together with my dad, it was hard to stop seeing him. We used to live in Nogales, Sonora for 14 years. Then I moved to Tucson, Arizona because it was close to the border. With only one suitcase, I tried to bring everything I could. My brother and my mom did the same. We put the 3 suitcases in my mom’s car and drove to Tucson. We had passports to cross the border, but we were not allowed to live here.
My mom had never worked before, and we didn’t know English. I started going to a middle school on the east side of Tucson. I was the only Hispanic in the school. They didn’t want to accept me in the school, but they did because I was citizen. The law in Arizona says all teenagers and youth can study in public school without problems, and if the schools don’t admit them, the district will be in trouble.
It was a really racist school. Probably some of you know this school, Magee Middle School. I felt really discriminated against by the teachers and students. They didn’t want to talk to me or get close to me, like I was going to bite them or something like that. I tried to talk to the counselor or some psychologist in that school, but not even they helped me. It was something difficult and they were making it worse. I thought I was wrong, but I was not. They were being racist with me. That is one of the reasons why I’m interested in stopping racism. I don’t want anyone to face the same situation I did.
Another strong experience I had was when my mom found a job in a hotel. She was working a lot and they didn’t pay her the same as the others. The minimum pay in Arizona is $7.50 and my mom was paid $6 dollars an hour and was working holidays without being paid, but what could she do without knowledge of her rights? She was crying and feeling desperate. Seeing my mom depressed helps me to keep going to school because I always think, if I study I will help her to be better in the future.
Two years later, I have a job and am going to school. I work as a waiter in a restaurant. My mom is still having difficulty getting a job, but we are doing well. I’m going to Catalina Magnet High School. This school is different. Students and teachers help you if you have any problem. This school has different cultures and different levels for English class. In my English class, we have a lot of support; we do a lot of projects that help me now and later in my daily life. In one project, I learned I can help my mom when I turn 18 to get the resident or the citizenship papers, but I can only do that because I came up here because of violence in my family. If I wasn’t coming because of violence, I would have to pay and do it when I turn 21, but I’m going to do it at 18 and do it for free. I learned a lot of other things and that’s why I invited the community to a forum, so others in Tucson could have knowledge about the rights of all the immigrants. The only thing I can recommend, is to not give up and keep your goals in mind.
I invited a lawyer, Rachel Wilson. When she came to my class, I learned a lot of laws that help the immigrants. I learned too the difference between a lawyer and a notary. Everything she told me is going to help in the future so I can help my mom to be a U.S. citizen. I hope the information Rachel Wilson presented helped others feel that they are in the same situation, a hopeful situation, that I’m in now. We need to stop racism and start equality.