Back in 1990 it was pretty easy to cross the border. We crossed right next to where the immigration officer was checking passports. Right next to it was like a big hole in the fence. It was so funny because he just stared at the side and said, “No, no, no, go back.” And then people just waited until he would get distracted so they could cross. But we were stopped within like 10 minutes. So we had to go back home, and I was excited because I really didn’t want to come, because I had a girlfriend. And then two weeks later we tried again and we made it that time.

The second time we didn’t cross through the hole; we had to jump over the fence.

And then when we got into the city, I was like, “Oh, my God.” I was in the United States, you know, looking at all the buildings and everything. And then we got into the apartment. I was expecting a big house with nice furniture, but it was totally different. It was my dad, my mom, my older brother, a family friend, my other older brother, myself and my little sister living in this studio. Because when I was a little kid and I used to read the letters my dad used to send to my mom, I mean you dream and imagine things. I imagined like they were living in this big house. We were little kids and we were dreaming about having the family all together finally.

In fact, my dad abandoned us for another woman months after he brought us here. Even though he left, he continued helping us with our documents. He submitted the applications for legal status and when he married that other woman that sped up the process because she is a U.S. citizen.

Roxana Bacon, lawyer, Phoenix (now chief counsel for United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, in Washington)

When you think about the sort of rhetoric of hate — it assumes that everybody’s packing their bags and racing north. It’s just not the case, and the kind of people who choose to immigrate are really people who look a lot like the American ideals. They’re ambitious. They’re fairly self-confident. They’re risk-takers. They’re kind of strong, hearty people. They’re usually driven because they want to protect their families, which are on the borderline of really falling apart because there’s actually no way to make any money in the country they’re sitting in. That’s the majority and then there’s a new stratum globally — very successful, capable professionals who move around mostly in the science and engineering fields.

Image Credit... Eduardo Sarmiento

Our housing industry, our service industry, our gardening, landscape industry, you name it — it’s been dependent for decades on Mexican labor. None of those people qualify for an employment-based visa. So when the hate mongers say, “Why can’t they wait in line? Why can’t they get a visa?” — there aren’t any visas to get! There’s no line to wait in! And that’s why everyone who knows this area of law says without comprehensive immigration reform you really aren’t going to solve any of these pop-up issues.