Herlinda Diaz came illegally to America at the age of 18, leaving her home country of Mexico. Wide spread corruption in Mexico City had destroyed, in her eyes, any possible future in her home country. She came with her husband to America with the primary goal to raise their children in an environment of opportunity and safety, neither of which Mexico could provide. Coming illegally to the States has brought many hardships for Herlinda and her family. While living under the shadows has been a struggle, she still sees America as a ray of light and opportunity.
Growing Up
“I remember I like to run in the forest because it was so beautiful.”
“I was the child of a single mother. I don’t have a father.”
Love and Judgment
“I met my husband when I was seventeen. The people in town would say that “the woman is looking to run away from the house.” They don’t like it. There were many troubles.”
Corruption at Home
“I miss many things, because it is my country. That’s where I was born. I don’t like how they manage things, the politicians. I don’t want to be there. These is many corruptions. It has beautiful places. It has beautiful people. But it also has bad things.”
“There is a corruption with the police. There is a corruption with the senators. Also the guns, there are a lot there.”
“My husband and I, we tried to get a business in Mexico. A transport business. He has a big truck. He transports products from state to state. Always the police stopped him and take money. Also when somebody else do something wrong and you go to the police, the police say “You know, if you have money, we can follow it, if you don’t, we can do nothing” Those are the kind of things I don’t like about Mexico. Maybe if cut the corruption, maybe I can go back.
A Better Life for My Children
“The place I was born did not have a lot of necessities, had a lot of poor people, and I did not want that for my family. I married so young, so when I decided to come to the United States I did not want to have that sort of life for my child.
“Yes, you know because, I look in my childhood, my youngest life, and I don’t like that kind of life for them. And right now I say “thank you America” It gave me the opportunity to bring my kids here”
Impressions of America
“I remember when I was seven years old, I listened to the people “Oh when you live in the United States, it’s beautiful, you can buy anything you want, you can do anything you want. So I grow up with that kind of memories. So when I decide to come, it was because my uncle went there and he said “oh, I have the car, I have the house, I have everything that I want” So I said I want that for me. It doesn’t matter the price. What is the price? The price is to cross the border.”
“It was not so beautiful, that’s how I would describe. Yeah, the train smell bad, the house was so old. So I said “uh oh, I don’t think this is what I want.” But I say “Well, I will be here and I will fight for what I want and a better life for my child.”
“I say thanks to America. Because I met people from the other countries, from the other cultures, from like different type of people. So I like the melting pot of this city.”
Challenges of a New Life
“When I first came to the United States, it was really so hard for the immigrants. So the first obstacle there was the language. There was also missing the family, the city, your relatives. You can fight for whatever you want, but it was forceful to get that.“
Racism from an Unexpected Source
“The first racist was you know, this is curious, but this was the Mexican people. Because I did not speak English and did not understand a lot. They speak English and they were racist to me. So I said okay, I will fight to learn English. I start to learn in private school, I paid for that. And also I tried to improve my English to get a better life, not just for me, but for also for my kids.”
The Looming Shadow of Trump
“I am scared Donald Trump will win the presidency. I guess he doesn’t have an idea how the immigrants, not only the Mexicans, even around the world, how they suffer from racists and are fighting to be part of the United States. If he say all the Mexicans are bad people. You need to show him he is false. You are coming to work hard and fight. Not fight for the wrong things, but fighting to get a place in this country.
“Trump says every immigrant are bad. It’s not true. All cultures have bad and good people”
Mexican Culture vs. American Culture
“Mexican culture is more closer. Because right here the family is lonely. Right here the family is father, mother, and child. In Mexico, it not like that. It’s all of the extended family together around the table. But it also makes troubles. Because they don’t respect the life of each other.
The sister and the brother says “you need to do this, you need to do that”, I don’t like that part of Mexico.
The Struggles of the Undocumented Job
“The boss of my job was Ecuadorian. I used to make $3.25 an hour. The minimum wage was $5.75. That’s a lot of money they were stealing from me. All those things I remember in my heart. I don’t know how Spanish people can make other Spanish people not have the same standards of life. My life wasn’t easy. But in Spanish I say “pero tu me necesitar”, but you needed me. I kept fighting and I worked so hard and a lot of hours. I said, “okay thank you, I don’t want to be here anymore.”
“Then I start to work for the pharmacy, so I need to lie. The pharmacist told me you need to say that you came from the other states and that you are a citizen to work here. So I feel bad for that. Because I never lie. I didn’t know I need to lie to get a job.”
Herlinda’s Thoughts on the Responsibility of Being in America
“Some immigrants say when we cross the border, that it is the biggest obstacle and we jump it. It’s not true. We need to jump the dialect, the culture, to try be part of this culture. So we need to fight. Some immigrants fall into assistance and start to have kids and go to the government and system to support them. I don’t feel that is good. We are running away from our country because there is no opportunity, we come to America because there is opportunity. There is many things you can do to support yourself.
Productivity Is My Passion
“I love to read and I love to make arts and crafts. So that’s my passions, reading something and try to do something productive. My dream job would be a wedding planner”
To Stay or Not to Stay
“My child I must support them, maybe then I can go back to Mexico. But, only when I feel that I get my dreams to get a better life for my children. My husband wants to go back now, but I don’t want to. This is the fighting with each other. He wants to go back. He doesn’t feel part of this country. And he says “how do you feel part of this country, if they are racist, if you need to do the jobs that even the citizens don’t want to do. Why do you want to be here if you get less money that the citizens get for the same job?” And I said “because America gave me everything that I want. Right here, I finish my high school diploma, I learn English, if I stayed in Mexico I would never do it because I have no money.”
You Gotta Do What You Gotta Do
“People don’t understand when I say that you need to be focused in your dreams and your goals and follow them. Don’t quit. They say that “you are so strict, you are so mean.” Some people say I’m so rude sometimes. I say you need to do it because you need to do it, not because you want. If you need to do something, do it. It doesn’t matter how long its taking. Some people don’t understand, especially in my circle of friends. If you don’t sleep, don’t sleep. Because I need to do it. Because I want to show that I can stay in the United States. Now with Trump, why does he think like that? Maybe he has bad experience with Mexicans. I don’t know. So I need to be focused.
