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Hometown: Phoenix, AZ
Place of birth: Tijuana, Mexico
Year of birth: 1989
Profession: Full time student at Arizona State University, majoring in non profit management. Currently doing a summer internship at a nonprofit.
Hobbies: Reading, blogging, community organizing, going to the movies, listening to music, and traveling
Tell us your story.
When I was 11, we decided to move to the United States because my Mom wanted us to get a better education. My brother had just turned 18, and he was thinking about where to go to college. In 2000 my mother decided to move the whole family so that my brother could go to college here, and eventually me and my little brother did as well. My mother gave birth to my little brother in California, so he’s a citizen. My mother and I are permanent residents, and my older brother just became a citizen.
What was it like moving to the US from Mexico?
It was very very different, because I had to learn a different language. I took English classes in Mexico, but they were very basic – nothing compared to what you need to speak here. When I was in the classroom, everything was in English. I hadn’t had any really good English teachers before, but I really wanted to learn; I didn’t want to have that barrier there all the time. I read a lot and watched a lot of TV in English. I’m not really sure what it was that made me learn, I mean, I’m still learning English. I’m learning new words every day. But I think over time, reading books like Harry Potter and watching movies is what did it. I believe my brother also had to take a year of ESL classes before he could take classes at Arizona State University.
So it was hard, but when I moved here, I moved to a Latino neighborhood, so I got to talk to a lot of the kids there, and spend time with them.
Do you have family or friends in danger of being deported?
I do have family in California, some cousins that are in danger of deportation. Here in Phoenix though, I have a lot of friends who are undocumented. All the people that I know are very active in the community, particularly advocating for the DREAM Act. They’re doing a lot to try to get people involved, like educating the community and registering people to vote to represent those who can’t vote.
In 2006, a couple of my friends and I did a hunger strike for the DREAM Act, so that we could bring some awareness and media attention to it. We got a lot of local media attention, we were on the national Univision news, we got a lot of magazine articles and blogs. There are a lot of people who wrote hate notes to us, but as long as they were talking about the DREAM Act, that’s all we cared about.
Throughout the years, we’ve also done community forums, and helping out RI4A with their events.
What made you get involved with that?
Compared a lot of others, I think I had a pretty easy experience coming to the U.S. I crossed the border with papers, I never had trouble getting to school or going to college and getting financial aid… So I just wanted to give back and provide help to those who didn’t have it as easy. I didn’t want to take my own experiences for granted, I wanted to give back. It’s sort of a way of saying thanks for everything I’ve gotten here in the United States. I just wanted to keep fighting so that everyone has the same rights as I do.
What are you passionate about and what are some experiences that made you who you are?
I’m passionate about the Hispanic Community. Right now, especially in Arizona because we’re going through so many things, whenever there’s a law or whenever there’s discrimination against the community, that’s what drives me to keep going and fighting for the cause.
I started thinking about this and I started being an advocate for the Hispanic Community when I began working at a radio show called El Break. They did a lot Hispanic outreach and a lot of events within the Community. I got involved with the show because of my brother – he had a job at an AM radio station, and the his boss asked him to develop a show that targeted youth, so he started gathering his friends to help and he asked me if I wanted to join. The first two years, was on AM radio, so it was more of a talk show, with topics ranging from health, to politics, to culture and entertainment. After that, we moved to a mainstream station, so we also started playing music, but also did shorter talk segments on the same kinds of topics. Working on the show really helped me to see the struggles that a lot of people faced, and made me want to act on their behalf.
What is your dream career?
Well, that’s hard… I’d like to work for a nonprofit, probably with youth, helping to get them resources so that they can go to college. I think a lot of the time kids don’t always know how to go about applying to colleges because they were the first generation to go. I feel like I can identify with them because I went through a similar process when I first came to the U.S.
El Break (which is actually not on the air anymore, but is still an active group) actually does regular events for students like a community forum that teaches them how to apply to college. We also do fundraisers to raise money for a scholarship for undocumented students to go to college. We do events throughout the year – it keeps me busy.
What do you think has changed since the recent passage of immigration laws in Arizona?
Since SB 1070 was proposed, I feel like we’ve become more united behind a common cause. The negative part of it is that a lot of people are scared – they’re moving to another state or they’re closing businesses, or leaving there jobs.
A friend of mine’s parents said that if they law went into effect, that they’d move back to Mexico. I don’t know if don’t know if they’re going to wait until Thursday to make a decision on that, but my friend was scared about it. She didn’t want to move because they’d moved to the US when she was 1 or 2 years old, and she’d be moving to a country that she doesn’t really remember at all. Even though she speaks the language, she doesn’t really speak it that well. It’s like it was when I moved to the US, that’s what it would be like for her to move to Mexico.
What are some solutions or positive steps you are involved in?
El Break has been doing PSAs for TV and radio about their rights, Conoce tus derechos. They tell people what steps what steps to take if you get pulled over or any other situations like that, just to be prepared.
On Thursday the 29th, when SB 1070 is supposed to go into effect, I’m going to help distribute water for the people that are part of the processions. I’ll also be helping with security at a church event.
Categories: Arizona, immigrant stories
