When I was asked to do an interview about my immigration story I was very nervous.  This is a very touchy subject in Arizona, but it is a subject that at times has divided my family.  I do not wish to give my real name, so think of me as Maria.  I actually immigrated to the United States twice, the first time at the age of 15, my parents pulled me out of high school in Chihuahua, Mexico to cross the border and settling in Phoenix, Arizona.  After three months my parents decided this was not what they had hoped for and we returned to Mexico.  I was happy to be going back to my high school and my friends.  In 1996, I was 19 years old, married , and working in a maquiladora inspecting wiring harnesses for automobiles.  My husband was a supervisor in the same factory.  The work was simple and repetitious, I made 200 pesos a week and my husband made 300 pesos a week.  That's about $20.00 and $30.00 U.S. dollars per week.

            The push factor for migrating was at our current income level it was impossible to save any money in Mexico.  Every month all our money went to purchasing food, water, clothing, and propane.  The propane for heating and cooking was the worst, $40.00 to fill the tank and we had to make it last for the whole month.  The pull factor were our relatives; uncles, aunts, and cousins would come from the United States to visit in the big new cars and bringing presents for everyone.  We thought they were rich, so my husband and I decided to migrate too.

            My uncle, my mother's brother, took us under his wing and helped us fit in.  He helped us fill out applications for jobs and an apartment.  He taught us to be responsible by paying our rent and bills on time.  My husband got a job painting houses for $120.00 per week and I started cleaning houses with my sister for minimum wage.  We thought we would be able to save a lot of money in a few years, move back to Mexico, and build a house.  However, we hadn't anticipated a few things.  The house cleaning service I worked for didn't pay as well as I thought it would, they didn't compensate for travel time between houses and the cost of living was much higher in the United States than in Mexico.

            To make more money I decided to start my own house cleaning business.  Most of my clients were very nice and friendly, but one individual taught me to be careful of who I worked for.  I received a call to clean this man's house, so I showed up and he asked me to get started cleaning the whole house.  The house was very dirty and I worked into the evening, but couldn't get the job finished.  I asked to be paid for the work I had done, but he refused and threatened to call the immigration service.  A neighbor lady overheard our "discussion" and called the police on him.  She told me before the police came, he would do this every couple of months and get his house cleaned for free!  This time the police came, assessed the situation and told him to pay for my services or he'd go to jail.  He decided to pay and I never heard from him again.  After that I only cleaned houses by referral.

            My only other brush with the law came when I headed downtown to clean a restaurant.  When I arrived in the parking lot I noticed a sheriff's command vehicle and sheriff's cars across the street, they were performing a sweep of the area, stopping all "Hispanic looking" people and asking for identification.  I didn't think too much about it, I figured they wouldn't harass me, because I had my U.S. citizenship now.  A few minutes later an officer approached and asked if I spoke English.  I said, yes.  He then asked for identification and I gave him my Arizona drivers license.  He then proceeded to grill me for the information on my drivers licensed. What was my name?  When was I born?  What was my address?  After I answered all the questions, he asked for my papers to prove citizenship.  I explained that I didn't have them on me, we were told to keep them in a safe place and not carry them around.  Then he asked for my passport.  That's when I got mad and asked to see his passport.  He told me I was being disrespectful and he could arrest me.  He then gave me an hour to produce my passport or be arrested.  I went inside the restaurant, called my husband to bring my passport and began cleaning.  An hour later I finished cleaning the restaurant, my husband still hadn't arrived with my passport, so I began to worry.  Then I noticed the officer had forgot about me, so I loaded up the car and headed home.  I guess the officer hadn't anticipated a confrontation and decided to search for easier prey.

            Overall I really enjoy the opportunities the United States has to offer, but I've had to give up a lot to become a citizen.  When I first arrived here I suppressed my language, my culture, and my pride for my country.  My uncle told us to blend in and pay everything on-time.  Most of the time I met a lot of nice people here, but there have been many times were people looked at the color of my skin and heard the accent in my voice, only to assume I was an illegal and could be taken advantage of.  Some of the worst comments were from cousins, second generation migrants, who would make fun of us or call us lazy because they were born in the United States and we were not.  My father can't understand why I would want to be a citizen of a country that doesn't respect me or where I came from.  However, now that he's older and mellowed a bit, he wants to come to the United States too.

            I could never see myself moving back to Mexico now.  I'm a real estate agent and most of my family live here in Arizona.  It is very important in the Mexican culture for a family to be near each other.  I believe the Arizona economy is suffering because of the laws that have been passed recently.  Most of the illegal's have left the state and many citizens have moved away to escape the harassment.  My husbands uncle left Arizona because of the ICE and Sheriff's department sweeps.  Before they left they wouldn't leave their homes and had people go shopping for them out of fear.  I'm not sure what has to change to help make it right, but I don't think continued harassment is the answer.