 |
|
|
 News from Around the Americas | June 2007 
Migrants Seizing Chance to Cross
 Alfredo Corchado - The Dallas Morning News
| | Getting into U.S. takes on sense of urgency as Senate debates overhaul. |
Nuevo Laredo, Mexico – Javier Soto's anxious face tells the story. He has to get to Waxahachie, where a construction job awaits him. But more important, he has to cross the Rio Grande before "the door closes" on him.
The quicker he gets into the U.S., the better his chances for "obtaining a permiso," said Mr. Soto, 20, a native of El Salvador, who like many other immigrants is closely following the U.S. Senate debate on overhauling the nation's immigration laws.
"We have to seize the moment because the last time immigrants were given an opportunity I was only a year old," he said. That was in 1986 when President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Immigration Reform and Control Act.
The controversial bill under discussion this week would strengthen border security and increase the penalties for employers who hire illegal immigrants, but it would also offer a path to citizenship for some of the 12 million already in the U.S.
So getting into the country has taken on a new sense of urgency for the 100 or so men and two women here outside the Catholic Church-run shelter known as Casa del Migrante in Nuevo Laredo. They're from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama.
In all, more than a dozen migrants interviewed on the banks of the Rio Grande say they have jobs waiting on the U.S. side; that their trips were planned long before the immigration debate; and that with or without changes in law, they'll continue to take the arduous and expensive journey.
Technically, they would not qualify for any kind of legal status. Under the proposal, only those who can prove they were in the U.S. before Jan. 1 can apply for temporary Z visas – if they acknowledge they broke the law, pay fines and undergo a criminal background check.
But "once you get there, anything is possible," said Manuel Tunches, 24, a tall, wiry man from Guatemala. "The critical thing is getting across. And if I don't get anything, I'll still work until there are no more jobs in the United States. ... Behind us are trains packed with more Central Americans. We're coming because there are jobs for us."
Others expressed more of an interest in obtaining temporary worker permits than in applying for citizenship because "Americans want our sweat, our hard work, but they don't like us," said Carlos Barrera, referring to what he called an anti-immigrant mood among Americans.
Polarizing bill
A top domestic priority for President Bush, the bill is widely regarded as the best chance for Congress to take action on immigration – possibly for years to come. But the measure has polarized the country. And some have denounced the plan as the worst immigration bill in history, likening it to amnesty.
Debate continued Tuesday in the Senate, where Democrats are pushing for more family-based immigration and Republicans are proposing to make the path to legalization more burdensome.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., an architect of the bill, said he would oppose the family changes despite his sympathy for the efforts.
"I'm going to stay with the agreement," Mr. Kennedy said of the "grand bargain" he struck with conservative Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona and other Republicans and Democrats from across the political spectrum.
That leaves in doubt the fate of a proposal by Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., to allow more than 800,000 people who had applied for permanent legal status by the beginning of the year to get green cards based purely on their family connections – a preference the bill ends for most relatives who got in line after May 2005.
A close vote also was expected on a bid by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, to bar illegal immigrants who have defied deportation orders from gaining legal status. That could cut down substantially on the number of unlawful immigrants who would be able to take advantage of the measure's path to legalization.
The Senate bill's path to citizenship would require immigrants to prove employment, submit to a criminal background check and maintain a clean record, learn English and U.S. civics, plus pay a fine of about $5,000 and thousands more in fees to legalize. Heads of families would have to return to their home countries to apply for permanent residency. And earning citizenship could take up to 13 years.
"Do we have to be virgins, too?" quipped Oscar Antonio Perez Lopez, a 40-year-old Panamanian in Nuevo Laredo on his way to Miami. "Can you blame us for choosing to be illegal?"
Added Alejandra Vasquez, 47, of San Luis Potosi, Mexico: "Why can't they take the money from our paycheck? Five thousand dollars is a bit much in one payment."
Worth the price
Most of the migrants here paid smugglers between $1,500 and $3,000.
Though the trip is always dangerous – and sometimes deadly – the lure of a steady paycheck is worth the price.
Indeed, the U.S. demand for workers is evident here in Nuevo Laredo.
"I just want to work, keep my head down and help my family back home," said Mr. Soto, the native of El Salvador on his way to Austin. "That's all."
Maria Agustina Villanueva, 66, said her smuggler beat her and stole the $700 that was to reunite her with her daughter in Houston.
Moments later, a blue pickup drove up slowly and tossed her bag on the pavement, which also carried overnight clothes, a bottle of water and pictures of her relatives. As Ms. Villanueva screamed obscenities, yelling, "rateros, rateros," or "thieves, thieves," Mr. Lopez ran after her and pulled her back.
"Are you crazy?" he asked. "These men will kill you and dump you in the river, make it look like it was a drug hit, and no one will ever claim you. Be glad you're alive."
Ms. Villanueva walked slowly to a corner and buried her face against a wall, crying.
A day earlier, as Mr. Lopez and Mr. Soto were preparing to cross the Rio Grande, the body of an unidentified man washed up on the Mexican bank. Authorities left the body for several hours in the hope that one of the migrants could identify him. No one did.
Still, the incident didn't appear to deter anyone.
"Mankind has yet to build the right wall, or fence, to keep people from looking for something better for their families," said the Rev. Adriano Barbiero, who helps run the migrant shelter.
acorchado@dallasnews.com
The Associated Press contributed to this report. |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us