Why I Didn 't Be A Complete Disaster?

As much as I loved living in Mexico as a child I always missed my father, I spend 6 birthdays, 6 Christmases, and 6 Father’s days without him. Even though he called every single day, my sister and I needed him to be in our lives physically. I know it was also very difficult for my parents to be apart and my dad suffered deeply but he was sacrificing to give us a better future. In the summer of 2007, when

When he got sick trying to protect their land, his Abuelita asked to take him home but refused and answered, “no, no, no. I want to help Mami with her dream house” (128). Carlos had wanted to prove to his mother that he wants her to stay badly, even if it could cost him his life.

The agonized expressions on the faces of her two sisters; the terror of their children, who were

My mother, three brothers, two sisters and I began to travel to places to collect all the required documents we needed in order to prepare for our appointment, which was to take place in Ciudad Juarez. I was more than thrilled to go places and tell people I was soon leaving to the United States, because that 's where everyone wanted to go and we were the lucky ones. On the other hand, the rest of them were leaving everything behind – their family and friendships. I didn 't have anything to lose because they were all to me; they had their lives there and now an unexpected letter was taking everything away. The truth is my father had petitioned for us just for the sake of it, thinking we wouldn 't get approved but destiny proved other wise. The plan my parents envisioned was taking this opportunity and returning to Mexico the following year with our residency status

Those families were not given a chance to proof if any family members were U.S citizens. Families were not given the chance to take anything with them. The news also began announcing free trains rides back to Mexico for Mexican American and Mexicans who wished to voluntarily be taken back to Mexico.

All at once, she wondered a million things. Was Gavin inside waiting for her? Had she missed him completely? Or had he always been there, lurking in the shadows? It was a disturbing thought that he might have

It was 2006 when Emma Sanchez was filing paperwork to be legalized in the U.S when she had to go to an appointment with immigration authorities at the U.S Consulate in Cuidad Juarez. And what happened next may have been the worst moment of her life. “Authorities told her she would be prohibited from returning home from Vista for 10 years, despite the fact that Paulsen, 51, is a U.S citizen and a Marine veteran” (Tatiana Sanchez). Situations similar to Emma Sanchez has happened before-many times in fact. According to the article “Deported Mothers Make New Lives in Tijuana Separated families part of the debate over U.S immigration” by Tatiana Sanchez, “In the first half of 2014, U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported 22,088 unauthorized

was the step-mother’s interest to make sure that his children were gotten rid of, for she wanted

Cecelia has been married to Hector for almost forty years. She came to this country illegally almost twenty years ago and has since been granted legal status as a Resident. Cecelia has been a work-at-home mom and enjoys taking care of her family and home. Cecelia does not know how to drive and does not speak English. Her inability to speak English has hindered her, and she must depend on her family when she has to interact with the English speaking community. Her limited cognition of English has also impacted her participation in her children’s schooling. While Cecelia’s nuclear family are in the USA her extended family all live in Mexico, recently her nephew Roberto also came to the USA, though illegally. Cecelia’s husband will not allow her to apply for food stamps and she is worried about how to feed everyone. She is able to get extra

Rosario left Mexico four years ago to look for a better life in Los Angeles. She made the difficult decision to leave her son with her mother while she sought for work in the United States. She worked as a housekeeper and a nanny. She sent money back home to keep her son fed, clothed and educated.

Before Tomás leaves Sylvia to confront the shooter, he tells her, “...Tell [Mamá] about that time we spiked the milk in the cafeteria so it all turned green. And how we hid the chickens in the teachers’ lounge,”(Nijkamp, 230). In this moment, it’s clear that Tomás regrets not having a closer relationship with his mom. He knows that confronting the shooter is dangerous and could lead to his death, so he wants his sister to tell their mother all the things he feels he should have long ago. When Tomás and Sylvia finally find each other for the first time since the shooting began, Sylvia apologizes to him with, “I’m sorry we fought so much this past year. We wasted so much time. If I had known we’d end up here…”(Nijkamp,229). Sylvia regrets being so distant with Tomás for such a long time. Being in danger makes her realize how much she loves her brother, and how much she does not want to lose her relationship with him. Moments in the story like this make me think of my grandfather, who passed a few years ago. When he was alive, I didn't talk to him much or spend much time with him, and now that he's gone, I regret not taking advantage of the time we had together, just as Tomás does with his mother.

The child, who was from the Bahamas, was docking in Miami after a week long family cruise with her mother, her little brother, her mother's boyfriend, and his family when the

This was a relief to her, but as she thought more about it she realized that her new husband would want his own children, and she would have to raise them. this thought once again made her uneasy.

Since Seidler arrived at port town, the first thing that he was told to do was get a visitors permit from the Mexican consulate, as he had done his paperwork by their government. That first visit set off a chain reaction that basically hounded him across the town, back and forth, to get the required paperwork (that there never seemed to stop) in order to prove that he was, in fact, leaving the country to Mexico; a plan which he never intended to follow through with. Still, in order to keep up the pretense of his leaving, Seidler went to the Mexican Consulate, then to the bureaucracy agency and then back again, getting several permits, extensions, passport authenticity, and then finally, his ticket (which he just ended up giving away for another person which is found out later to be Achelsroth). This entire process took weeks and months to finish seeing as the Consulate worked at their own pace and saw whomever they wished. Seghers was detailed and brutally honest in describing those kinds of scenes because she had experienced them first hand. Seghers did not have to wait as long as Seidler did to get her and her family’s paperwork done, but the involvement was still the same. She too had to wait days and days to get into

His family was very supportive and wanted the best for their child. Although they had the resources, they seem