Illegal or Not -- The Story of Two

Our mexican friend, wife, and aged mother in Mexico

As a "legal" traveler" south of the border" (SOB), I sometimes run into citizens of Mexico who have traveled "north of the border" illegally. However, it appears to me that Mexican citizens who have returned to Mexico in recent months are out of work whether they are north or south of the border.

One told me his story which probably has been "the story" of many illegal immigrants to the USA. He said he has worked in the USA for about 12 years, the longest stretch of employment north of Atlanta Georgia. However, he started in California, moved to North Carolina (to the carpet mills) and ended up in Georgia working in as a bus boy and dishwasher in a restaurant chain and as a handyman for a man with a lot of property. During his entire 12 years in the USA, he never got a raise unless he changed jobs, even when he worked for the same parties for over 5 years. He usually worked two, if not three jobs at a time, and seven days a week with only 2 vacations in 12 years. During his time in the USA, he returned to Mexico only once and, of course, was divorced by his Mexican wife. He finally returned to Mexico in order to care for his aged and ill parents and because there was little work available in southern USA for him.

While in the USA (and in Mexico currently) he never smoke or drank in order to send as much money as possible to his former boss and a friend to build a house for his parents in Mexico. His parents never owned a house until he was able to build a very nice one for them by working for about $7.50 a year for 12 years in the USA. He was seldom sick during the 12 years because he HAD to get to work everyday no matter what, so he did not use free medical care while in the USA. Finally, he paid into a VALID social security account the entire time his was working in his mainline jobs in the USA because he bought a valid social security number from a person who legally obtained one when he lived in the USA.

While I may not have all the details of his story exactly correct, the account is largely true because I saw photos of his employers, his living residences, and copies of his certificates of training from various companies. He also had with him the "remains" of uniforms that he was required to wear while working in some employment settings. In addition, his English skills were pretty good, although with a SOUTHERN accent. We visited with he and his new wife and remaining parent several times both in their lovely home and in our rented quarters. In short, everything appeared to "check out."

I mention the preceding details because his presence in the USA for 12 years was not quite the negative impact on the medical and social services systems of the USA that is often characterized in other news stories. He always worked in the lower tier of work (dishwasher and bus "boy" much of the time) even though he worked for years with the same employer(s) and was past 40 years of age. It is likely he could not "advance" because of his illegal status and lack of basic education. Yet, his wages propped up a a social security system that neither he nor anyone else with his specific social security number will ever collect on, and he maintained a self supporting status in a foreign land.

I am reminded by him of the value of immigrants to a country whether legal or not. We often view illegal immigrants badly because of their illegal status and low status. We probably have more patience with legal immigrants because they are often the "best and the brightest" their country has to offer in employment areas that do not have enough USA graduates of higher education. Indeed, I personally have sponsored two such individuals in this country, so we have one more registered nurse, for example, to serve our medical needs. However, may I suggest that the illegal immigrant are perhaps "the most motivated" when you consider what it takes for them to get here, stay here, and then frequently reintegrate themselves into a country and family system that has "closed up behind them."

Still, it is true that many, especially those that bring families or develop them in the USA, DO impact on our social service and medical systems. Nevertheless, many of them "spend themselves" so that their LEGAL children are educated and successful as a SECOND generation in the USA. They become the "future" of this country, along with our own children and grandchildren. Many start family businesses that grow and grow and grow.

I end with a thought about my aged across the street neighbor who was a "war bride" from the Philippines. She mentioned to me just recently that her WEALTHY family was AGAINST her marriage to an American serviceman and made him prove his employment skills by working in the Philippines before she could return to the USA with him after WWII. She said the greatest discrimination she faced upon arriving in the USA was because of her broken English skills that she badly learned from her husband's relatives who "laced" their daily conversations with vulgarity. Nevertheless, she learned to live in this country, raised a family of some self-sufficiency, and still found much time to do numerous and significant charitable acts to people of all backgrounds and races even to this very day. She is now almost 90 years old and still the first one up in the morning and out working in her yard. She said she has only one sister still living in the Philippines; the rest are in California. She added they often hide their true past because their comparative wealth in the Philippines has never been understood by people in the USA who mistake them for mere poor refugees.

I am glad to have met the two individuals cited above, and I believe our country has been enriched by both of them, the first an "illegal," the second a "legal war bride." I don't think we could have managed very well without either of them. I know that a small city in Mexico and an aged mother are glad to have their native son back in their midst, and I hope to see my "war bride" neighbor lady out in her front yard every morning for a long time to come. The photo is of the "dishwasher" we lost to Mexico in front of his "humble" home built for his parents by his hard earned wages. I could only wish that you could have the opportunity to eat at their tables and hear of their gratitude for our country.

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