1 00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:05,800 Speaker 1: When we crossed the actual border. That's where it all 2 00:00:06,040 --> 00:00:08,320 Speaker 1: hit in, like I'm going to a place I have 3 00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:11,360 Speaker 1: no idea how it looks. I don't know a lot 4 00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:16,080 Speaker 1: of people. I just I mean, I cried the whole trip, 5 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:18,480 Speaker 1: But at that point I knew, I knew that I 6 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:21,880 Speaker 1: was on this site, already in the Mexican side, and 7 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:24,760 Speaker 1: that there was nothing I could do anymore. That I 8 00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:28,240 Speaker 1: was here, and I had to make something out of it. 9 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:36,560 Speaker 2: From futro media and PRX, it's Latino USA. I'm Maria 10 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:40,239 Speaker 2: ino Josa today for the tenth anniversary of DACA, the 11 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:46,880 Speaker 2: untold stories of undocumented immigrants forced to return to Mexico. 12 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:53,360 Speaker 2: This year marks the tenth anniversary of DACA, a policy 13 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:58,080 Speaker 2: put in place under pressure by activists by former President 14 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:02,240 Speaker 2: Barack Obama in twenty twelve. It defers the deportation of 15 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:07,200 Speaker 2: hundreds of thousands of then young undocumented immigrants who had 16 00:01:07,319 --> 00:01:11,880 Speaker 2: arrived in the US as children. President Joe Biden's administration 17 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:16,560 Speaker 2: refers to DACA as an extraordinarily successful policy that has 18 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:20,840 Speaker 2: benefited more than eight hundred thousand people, But that's not 19 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:27,080 Speaker 2: the whole story. After a decade in place, DOACA still 20 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:31,560 Speaker 2: doesn't offer a pathway to legal, permanent residency or citizenship, 21 00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:35,319 Speaker 2: and Congress has failed time and time again to pass 22 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:40,920 Speaker 2: legislation that would provide stability for these immigrants. In this episode, 23 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:44,559 Speaker 2: we're going to introduce you to Maggie, Madai and Esme, 24 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 2: three young women who left the United States both before 25 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:52,880 Speaker 2: and after DACA was implemented because of the US government's 26 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:56,320 Speaker 2: inability to offer them a sense of what a clear 27 00:01:56,600 --> 00:02:03,200 Speaker 2: future would look like. They are just a few of 28 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:06,880 Speaker 2: the thousands of immigrants who have made the difficult decision 29 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:11,320 Speaker 2: to return to places they hadn't known for years, leaving 30 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:15,440 Speaker 2: their families behind and even putting their lives at risk 31 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:20,920 Speaker 2: with this decision. Still life goes on, even if it's hard, 32 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:25,000 Speaker 2: and these three women found each other on the other side, 33 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:28,560 Speaker 2: and they formed a community they didn't even know that 34 00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:32,960 Speaker 2: they needed. We're going to start with Maggie Loredo. She's 35 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:36,200 Speaker 2: thirty one years old now, and she's the oldest of 36 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:37,600 Speaker 2: the three women we're going to meet. 37 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:46,120 Speaker 1: Being part of the immigrant family, I mean since I 38 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:49,400 Speaker 1: was like ten, I was very active in my family. First, 39 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:53,480 Speaker 1: like I had to interpret at hospitals. 40 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:56,160 Speaker 2: Maggie arrived in the US in nineteen ninety three with 41 00:02:56,240 --> 00:02:59,600 Speaker 2: her family, first to Dallas and then to Dalton, Georgia, 42 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:00,639 Speaker 2: where she grew up. 43 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:05,440 Speaker 1: I taught English classes and citizenship classes at a local 44 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:08,680 Speaker 1: Latino clinic. I was also an interpreter at an elementary 45 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:12,480 Speaker 1: school for parent teacher conferences. In the hospital, I think 46 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:14,480 Speaker 1: that was one of the best experiences. I was there 47 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:19,800 Speaker 1: almost two years. I volunteered in the general area, but 48 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:22,680 Speaker 1: then I moved to the maternity area and I started 49 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:25,920 Speaker 1: to do a lot of work with moms and in 50 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:26,640 Speaker 1: the nursery. 51 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:31,280 Speaker 2: But as an undocumented immigrant, there was always something looming 52 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:32,760 Speaker 2: behind the work she did. 53 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:37,160 Speaker 1: I think I was trying to prove everybody else that 54 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:39,200 Speaker 1: I needed to be here, that this was my home, 55 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:42,400 Speaker 1: that I was someone that was giving back to the community. 56 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:45,880 Speaker 2: By two thousand and eight, Maggie was about to graduate 57 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:48,480 Speaker 2: from high school and wanted to go on to college. 58 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:52,240 Speaker 2: She looked into applying to scholarships for undocumented students, but 59 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:56,320 Speaker 2: their funds had run out. She asked her teachers in school, 60 00:03:56,800 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 2: but they didn't even know how to help her. At 61 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:06,120 Speaker 2: that time, DACA didn't exist, and the Dream Act, first 62 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:09,720 Speaker 2: introduced in two thousand and one, didn't seem to be 63 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:11,920 Speaker 2: going anywhere in Congress. 64 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:17,559 Speaker 1: I really understood that even though I had grown up here, 65 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:20,960 Speaker 1: and even though I had done all this work, at 66 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:23,720 Speaker 1: the age of eighteen, I was going to stop having 67 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:25,039 Speaker 1: rights in this country. 68 00:04:26,040 --> 00:04:29,960 Speaker 2: Maggie had to make a choice. She decided to go 69 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:33,279 Speaker 2: back to Mexico and try and continue her education there. 70 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:38,880 Speaker 2: She had just turned eighteen. Here now is Maggie telling 71 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:39,680 Speaker 2: her own story. 72 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:45,400 Speaker 1: I don't think I was hopeful. I mean, I think 73 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:48,559 Speaker 1: I was just doing something that I wasn't even sure 74 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:51,280 Speaker 1: I wanted to do it, but it seemed like it 75 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:54,320 Speaker 1: was the only thing I could do. I gathered a 76 00:04:54,360 --> 00:04:57,520 Speaker 1: bunch of recommendation letters because I knew if I needed 77 00:04:57,520 --> 00:05:00,520 Speaker 1: a job, I could show all of these letters. I 78 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:05,279 Speaker 1: did call the Mexican consulate and I tried to prepare 79 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:09,920 Speaker 1: all my school documents to revalidate my US studies in Mexico. 80 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:18,280 Speaker 1: I left Georgia and I went on a van with 81 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:23,159 Speaker 1: like seven men and one elder lady. I was going 82 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:27,680 Speaker 1: to Kana de Ganas, two very small religion Sanris Potosi, 83 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:35,440 Speaker 1: and it was like a thirty hour drive. When we 84 00:05:35,560 --> 00:05:42,040 Speaker 1: crossed the actual border. That's where it all hid in 85 00:05:45,760 --> 00:05:47,960 Speaker 1: I'm going to a place I have no idea how 86 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:50,880 Speaker 1: it looks. I don't know a lot of people. I 87 00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:56,960 Speaker 1: don't have a lot of communication with my relatives. I just, 88 00:05:57,320 --> 00:06:00,880 Speaker 1: I mean, I cried the whole trips I left Dalton. 89 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:04,720 Speaker 1: But at that point I knew, I knew that I 90 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:08,119 Speaker 1: was on this side, already in the Mexican side, and 91 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 1: that there was nothing I could do anymore, that I 92 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:14,480 Speaker 1: was here and I had to make something out of it. 93 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:20,039 Speaker 1: So I think I was just more in a quiet, 94 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:26,560 Speaker 1: silent mode at that moment. I remember that I got 95 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:30,239 Speaker 1: up the following morning, and I remember that I didn't 96 00:06:30,279 --> 00:06:33,279 Speaker 1: even want to go out the room because I knew 97 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:36,919 Speaker 1: I was going to have to talk to people. Eventually. 98 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:40,640 Speaker 1: I ended up going outside and the first thing I 99 00:06:40,720 --> 00:06:45,799 Speaker 1: saw was my grandma's altar. My grandma had passed away 100 00:06:45,880 --> 00:06:48,760 Speaker 1: like two years before. When I saw the altar, I 101 00:06:48,839 --> 00:06:52,560 Speaker 1: did have memories of my grandma. I started to just 102 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:55,800 Speaker 1: look at all the walls in the house, and I 103 00:06:55,839 --> 00:06:59,000 Speaker 1: saw photos of me, like school photos of me, on 104 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:01,560 Speaker 1: the walls, and I thought I was very strange because 105 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:04,560 Speaker 1: I didn't even know my parents had sent photos of me. 106 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:12,800 Speaker 1: I went to the bathroom and They didn't have like 107 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:16,160 Speaker 1: a flushing toilet or like a bathtub or a shower 108 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:20,320 Speaker 1: or anything. It was just all with little buckets and 109 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:25,880 Speaker 1: you had to heat your water on firewood. Everything felt 110 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:30,440 Speaker 1: very strange, and I think at that moment I started 111 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:33,640 Speaker 1: to really regret what I had done, because I left 112 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:39,160 Speaker 1: everything I had in the US for this. I think 113 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:43,560 Speaker 1: the next month I started to connect with people there 114 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:47,920 Speaker 1: in the village. But then eventually I moved to the 115 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:51,320 Speaker 1: capital of San Rispotosi, and I took a bus. I 116 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:54,680 Speaker 1: took the wrong bus and I got lost, but this 117 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:58,800 Speaker 1: bus went to like the wealthy area of Sanris Potosi. 118 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:00,800 Speaker 1: So at first I was very confused. I was like, 119 00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:05,280 Speaker 1: why am I seeing these big houses, these big streets. 120 00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:09,600 Speaker 1: They look clean, These cars look like new cars. I 121 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:12,720 Speaker 1: had never seen the wealthy area of anything in Mexico. 122 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:17,160 Speaker 1: And I saw a sign at a building that said 123 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:20,160 Speaker 1: that they were looking to hire a receptionist and it 124 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:24,040 Speaker 1: was an English school, so I got excited. I looked 125 00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:26,760 Speaker 1: up the name of the school and then I applied. 126 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:33,920 Speaker 1: I got hired to be a receptionist, but I became salesperson, 127 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:39,400 Speaker 1: English coordinator, babysitter. I even got to manage the entire 128 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:43,560 Speaker 1: school by myself. It ended up being a very toxic 129 00:08:44,080 --> 00:08:49,079 Speaker 1: space where there was a lot of abuse from my bosses. 130 00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:54,280 Speaker 1: I tried to revalidate my US studies and it was impossible. 131 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:56,040 Speaker 1: They told me that there was no way I could 132 00:08:56,080 --> 00:08:59,679 Speaker 1: do it in San Luis Potosi Capital in that it 133 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:02,360 Speaker 1: was like an in person paperwork I had to do, 134 00:09:03,040 --> 00:09:05,160 Speaker 1: and I explained that I couldn't go back to the 135 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:09,280 Speaker 1: United States. I went like at least ten times or more, 136 00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:13,680 Speaker 1: and I explain my story like a hundred times every 137 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:17,319 Speaker 1: time I went, and they would never know where to 138 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:20,120 Speaker 1: send me, like to which department. It's a huge building. 139 00:09:20,840 --> 00:09:24,640 Speaker 1: And finally I found the person like months later, and 140 00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:26,680 Speaker 1: that's what the person told me, like you need to 141 00:09:26,679 --> 00:09:35,440 Speaker 1: go back, I'm sorry, and that's it. At that point, 142 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:38,880 Speaker 1: I was already working at the English school, and my 143 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:41,920 Speaker 1: bosses used it as a really good opportunity to really 144 00:09:42,040 --> 00:09:44,320 Speaker 1: just tell me, this is the best thing that can 145 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:48,920 Speaker 1: happen to you this job, because you don't have a degree, 146 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:53,000 Speaker 1: and you don't have references, and you don't even have 147 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:56,000 Speaker 1: high school. So just like, this is your opportunity to 148 00:09:56,080 --> 00:10:03,600 Speaker 1: be successful in this job, So take this advantage. I 149 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:07,959 Speaker 1: was also very alone at that moment that I invested 150 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:11,320 Speaker 1: myself in that job twenty four to seven, giving everything 151 00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:15,120 Speaker 1: of me, and they were just using me, they were 152 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:18,760 Speaker 1: just exploiting me. It became really ugly, and then I 153 00:10:18,800 --> 00:10:24,520 Speaker 1: finally quit that job three years after. Around that time, 154 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:28,000 Speaker 1: my mom came back to Mexico. We moved to another place. 155 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:30,840 Speaker 1: A few months after my dad returned as well. So 156 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:34,199 Speaker 1: they rented like a place and we opened a store, 157 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:37,480 Speaker 1: and I was in charge of that store. I was 158 00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:42,800 Speaker 1: in a very bad mental state because by that time 159 00:10:42,880 --> 00:10:47,680 Speaker 1: it was already twenty twelve, I still wasn't in college. 160 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:51,760 Speaker 1: I was taking care of a store that was recently open, 161 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:54,520 Speaker 1: so like there were no clients. I literally would spend 162 00:10:54,559 --> 00:10:58,400 Speaker 1: the day just cleaning and hoping a fly would go by. 163 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:02,920 Speaker 1: It was very disappointing and depressive. I really felt that 164 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:05,560 Speaker 1: I had let down a lot of the people that 165 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:10,120 Speaker 1: believed that I had a really bright future. I was 166 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:15,000 Speaker 1: in my house that evening when Obama came out and 167 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:16,200 Speaker 1: gave his speech. 168 00:11:16,559 --> 00:11:20,480 Speaker 3: This morning, Secretary of Napoloitano announced new actions my administration 169 00:11:20,600 --> 00:11:25,920 Speaker 3: will take to mend our nation's immigration policy to make 170 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:31,080 Speaker 3: it more fair, more efficient, and more just specifically for 171 00:11:31,280 --> 00:11:34,560 Speaker 3: certain young people sometimes called dreamers. 172 00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:41,480 Speaker 1: And I was sitting there, and I was in shock 173 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:45,679 Speaker 1: because I knew that he was talking to me like 174 00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:48,000 Speaker 1: I felt like he was speaking to me, like I 175 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:50,280 Speaker 1: was that kind of person he was describing. 176 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:55,480 Speaker 3: Put yourself in their shoes. Imagine you've done everything right 177 00:11:55,679 --> 00:11:56,440 Speaker 3: your entire. 178 00:11:56,280 --> 00:12:01,800 Speaker 4: Life, studied hard, worked hard, maybe even graduated at the 179 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:05,320 Speaker 4: top of your class, only to suddenly face the threat 180 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:11,880 Speaker 4: of deportation to a country that you know nothing about. 181 00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:16,280 Speaker 1: I was that person. I was very active with my community. 182 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:20,160 Speaker 1: I had finished high school. I wanted to stay. That 183 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:23,960 Speaker 1: was the only place I knew as home. And the 184 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:28,200 Speaker 1: only thing, or the only reason I knew he wasn't 185 00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:30,400 Speaker 1: talking to me was because I was in Mexico. 186 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:37,600 Speaker 2: We'll hear more from Maggie later, but coming up you'll 187 00:12:37,640 --> 00:12:40,840 Speaker 2: meet Madai Samora, who was in the US when Obama 188 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:45,120 Speaker 2: made that announcement. She got Dhaka, but still Madai decided 189 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:49,200 Speaker 2: to return to Mexico. After the break, you'll hear why 190 00:12:50,360 --> 00:13:44,040 Speaker 2: stay with us? Yes, hey, we're back. Before the break, 191 00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:47,200 Speaker 2: we heard from Maggie Loredo, who returned to Mexico in 192 00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:50,559 Speaker 2: two thousand and eight after graduating from high school because 193 00:13:50,679 --> 00:13:52,840 Speaker 2: she didn't see a future for herself in the US 194 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:57,720 Speaker 2: as an undocumented young woman. Four years later, in twenty twelve, 195 00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:02,959 Speaker 2: DAKA was created, and Maggie did meet all of the requirements, 196 00:14:03,080 --> 00:14:05,280 Speaker 2: except for the fact that she was now living in 197 00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:08,920 Speaker 2: Mexico and there wasn't a path to DACA for someone 198 00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:13,719 Speaker 2: like her. That same year, twenty twelve, in North Carolina, 199 00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:17,800 Speaker 2: Madai Samora was just graduating from high school. 200 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:21,520 Speaker 5: I was one of the first to admit to the 201 00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:26,720 Speaker 5: counflor that I'm undocumented. It was scary but liberating, and 202 00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:29,600 Speaker 5: that's just who I was. I was undocumented. I couldn't 203 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:30,720 Speaker 5: fake otherwise. 204 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:35,600 Speaker 2: Madai is now twenty eight years old. Back then, she 205 00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:40,000 Speaker 2: had applied and gotten into her top college choices, but 206 00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:43,600 Speaker 2: without papers, she couldn't afford to continue her studies. 207 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:48,040 Speaker 5: That's when I really felt betrayed by the whole system. 208 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:51,840 Speaker 2: Even after the DACA announcement, which some saw as the 209 00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:55,480 Speaker 2: solution to all of her problems, Madai knew it was 210 00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:59,280 Speaker 2: never meant to be a long term fix for immigration. 211 00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:02,280 Speaker 2: Here no Madaise story. 212 00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:11,760 Speaker 5: In her own words, I had always wanted to move 213 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:14,520 Speaker 5: back to Mexico since I was little for me, that 214 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:17,760 Speaker 5: American dream that everyone you know, that our parents believed in. 215 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:23,720 Speaker 5: I never believed in it because I always saw life elsewhere. 216 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:29,320 Speaker 5: I had planned to move to Mexico. I ended up 217 00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:32,800 Speaker 5: taking a gap year to work and save money to 218 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:37,480 Speaker 5: come to Mexico and go to college. But that's when 219 00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:45,480 Speaker 5: Obama announced DAKA. I remember the day clear as light. 220 00:15:45,880 --> 00:15:48,360 Speaker 5: My phone started blowing up. Everyone started calling me and 221 00:15:48,400 --> 00:15:53,200 Speaker 5: texting me to turn on the news. The thought was, okay, 222 00:15:53,520 --> 00:15:56,880 Speaker 5: but this is an executive order. This is not something stable. 223 00:15:57,040 --> 00:15:59,560 Speaker 5: What is going to happen in four years because in 224 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:01,880 Speaker 5: four years, whether we like it or not, Obama is 225 00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:06,119 Speaker 5: no longer going to be president. It was a struggle 226 00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:08,640 Speaker 5: if I was going to apply for DACA or if 227 00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:12,280 Speaker 5: I was just going to leave. And eventually my family 228 00:16:12,320 --> 00:16:15,400 Speaker 5: won and I applied for DACA. I applied to Jenson C. 229 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:20,840 Speaker 5: Smith University, and that's where I ended up going. So 230 00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:25,640 Speaker 5: there was only a handful of Hispanic students. We were 231 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:31,480 Speaker 5: all either undocumented or documented. You're in college, you want 232 00:16:31,520 --> 00:16:33,360 Speaker 5: to party, you want to have fun, you want to 233 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:38,640 Speaker 5: do all these things, but because you're undocumented or documented, 234 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:42,000 Speaker 5: you constantly have to think of like no, because if 235 00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:47,960 Speaker 5: I get pulled over. It's game over. I struggled my 236 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:50,760 Speaker 5: senior year in high school trying to go to college 237 00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:52,560 Speaker 5: and trying to figure out what was going to do. 238 00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:56,040 Speaker 5: And then again my senior year in college, there a 239 00:16:56,080 --> 00:16:57,840 Speaker 5: Republican Party announced. 240 00:16:57,360 --> 00:17:03,000 Speaker 4: That Donald DA Trump has been selected as a Republican 241 00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:06,520 Speaker 4: Party nominee for President of the United States. 242 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:11,840 Speaker 5: It was just a stressful year because hearing all the rhetoric, 243 00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:17,280 Speaker 5: feeling more racism around me because living in the South, 244 00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:22,240 Speaker 5: it's always kind of there, but it's very subtle. But 245 00:17:22,520 --> 00:17:27,600 Speaker 5: once Trump started saying everything he said, and you felt 246 00:17:27,760 --> 00:17:29,440 Speaker 5: the tension even more there. 247 00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:31,080 Speaker 3: We have another state to project it as the state 248 00:17:31,119 --> 00:17:32,760 Speaker 3: of North Carolina, big battleground state. 249 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:35,240 Speaker 5: It's going to Donald Trump fifteen electoral votes. 250 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:37,119 Speaker 2: He is filling in that map. 251 00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:39,320 Speaker 5: The day of the election, I just went to bed. 252 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:47,160 Speaker 5: I did not want to watch it, and I remember 253 00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:49,320 Speaker 5: I woke up around three or four in the morning 254 00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:54,760 Speaker 5: and I texted my husband boyfriend then like what happened, 255 00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:56,400 Speaker 5: and he told me. 256 00:17:57,119 --> 00:18:00,080 Speaker 3: Donald Trump wins the presidency. 257 00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:03,080 Speaker 5: I just wanted to tell everyone in my family, I 258 00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:07,400 Speaker 5: told you this would happen. Because his main goal, one 259 00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:10,040 Speaker 5: of his main goals was to take away Doca to 260 00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:10,600 Speaker 5: end it. 261 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:12,520 Speaker 6: The executive order gets rescinded. 262 00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:13,879 Speaker 5: One good thing about sinned. 263 00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:15,480 Speaker 2: You'll resind that one too. 264 00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:17,760 Speaker 3: One good thing the dream out executive. 265 00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:21,080 Speaker 2: We have to make a whole new set of standards. 266 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:28,560 Speaker 5: At the time, my husband, he was like half joking, 267 00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:31,800 Speaker 5: half serious, said I'm just going to leave and get 268 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:34,480 Speaker 5: things started for us in Mexico. And we all kind 269 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:38,080 Speaker 5: of like laughed about it. But his half joke turned 270 00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:42,160 Speaker 5: into a reality, and in January twenty seventeen he came back, 271 00:18:42,240 --> 00:18:49,359 Speaker 5: and he's been in Mexico ever since. He asked me 272 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:53,960 Speaker 5: to move here. I said no the first time because 273 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:57,400 Speaker 5: I couldn't bear the thought of being away from my family, 274 00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:02,639 Speaker 5: because I knew that if I left, it was going 275 00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:04,720 Speaker 5: to be a minimum of ten years before I could 276 00:19:04,720 --> 00:19:07,280 Speaker 5: even attempt to get a tourist visa to go. 277 00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:09,919 Speaker 6: Back and visit. The president on Twitter today claiming the 278 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:14,440 Speaker 6: recent crackdown on undocumented immigration is quote keeping a campaign promise. 279 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:16,560 Speaker 2: ICE agents have been rounding. 280 00:19:16,280 --> 00:19:19,119 Speaker 5: Up in between January and February of twenty seventeen, there 281 00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:22,800 Speaker 5: was a lot of raids that started happening, and there 282 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:25,920 Speaker 5: was just this fear that started to come back into 283 00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:29,200 Speaker 5: our communities. It started to get to the point where 284 00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:31,639 Speaker 5: I didn't even want my mom to drive or my 285 00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:33,119 Speaker 5: aunt's to drive tonight. 286 00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:37,080 Speaker 3: Around the country, restaurant kitchens are empty, factories are deserted, 287 00:19:37,119 --> 00:19:38,680 Speaker 3: and schools quiet. 288 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:45,400 Speaker 2: Dozens protesting downtown in front of the Immigration and Customs 289 00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:48,720 Speaker 2: Building or ice and fighting for the rights of undocumented workers. 290 00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:51,000 Speaker 5: There was a really big protest of like a Day 291 00:19:51,040 --> 00:19:53,520 Speaker 5: without an Immigrant. I remember all of us and my 292 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:56,920 Speaker 5: family we participated. We all went, and my mom ended 293 00:19:57,000 --> 00:20:00,159 Speaker 5: up getting fired from her job. I just got so 294 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:03,480 Speaker 5: angry because that was the reality that we were living in. 295 00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:08,520 Speaker 5: To me, it affected my depression again and my anxiety again, 296 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:10,280 Speaker 5: and I had to go back to therapy and I 297 00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:13,720 Speaker 5: was back on antidepressants, and it was just to the 298 00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:16,560 Speaker 5: point where I didn't know what to do. I graduated 299 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:19,360 Speaker 5: in May twenty seventeen, and I didn't have a job 300 00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:22,919 Speaker 5: lined up because in North Carolina to be a teacher, 301 00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:27,040 Speaker 5: they weren't giving professional licensures to people that had DAKA 302 00:20:27,359 --> 00:20:36,719 Speaker 5: because it's unstable. The year passed, it was twenty eighteen, 303 00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:39,439 Speaker 5: and I was still in turned. It was the beginning 304 00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:43,280 Speaker 5: of the year Midway Midway like I'm leaving. I'm not leaving, 305 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:46,520 Speaker 5: I'm going. I went to my therapist and I told 306 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:50,760 Speaker 5: her what was going on, and she she's the one 307 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:54,960 Speaker 5: that pushed me, like are you happy? No, she told me, 308 00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:58,240 Speaker 5: so what are you still doing here? If leaving two 309 00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:01,120 Speaker 5: Mexico is going to make you happy, then why don't 310 00:21:01,160 --> 00:21:03,280 Speaker 5: you make the move. And so that was like my 311 00:21:03,400 --> 00:21:07,840 Speaker 5: little snap out of it. And I went home and 312 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:11,480 Speaker 5: I bought my ticket. I didn't tell anybody that I 313 00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:16,080 Speaker 5: bought the ticket until a couple of weeks after. My 314 00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:18,400 Speaker 5: mom was the first one that I told. I took 315 00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:20,280 Speaker 5: it to my bedroom and I sent her down and 316 00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:23,960 Speaker 5: I told her own, I bought my ticket to go 317 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:27,360 Speaker 5: to Mexico. And it's a one way ticket, obviously, and 318 00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:30,280 Speaker 5: she took it rather well. I think she saw it coming. 319 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:34,879 Speaker 5: The whole purpose of going to the United States to 320 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:37,920 Speaker 5: say you don't come back, because it's seen as you're 321 00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:41,640 Speaker 5: going to go back to poverty or your parents' sacrifice. 322 00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:45,280 Speaker 5: It's not going to be worth anything if you go back. 323 00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:50,199 Speaker 5: It was seen as you're giving up. But for me, 324 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:53,160 Speaker 5: it wasn't like that. I had always wanted to move 325 00:21:53,200 --> 00:22:00,320 Speaker 5: back to Mexico since I was little I was in 326 00:22:00,359 --> 00:22:03,760 Speaker 5: the airport in Charlotte waiting for my airplane. It was 327 00:22:03,840 --> 00:22:07,359 Speaker 5: June twenty seventh of twenty eighteen. I thought I would 328 00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:11,640 Speaker 5: be nervous and anxious, but it was one of the 329 00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:21,600 Speaker 5: most calmest moments that I have felt in my entire life. 330 00:22:21,880 --> 00:22:25,640 Speaker 5: That first month literally was spent traveling and we went 331 00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:28,680 Speaker 5: to chap with the Beek. We went to the Pyramids, 332 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:31,720 Speaker 5: you know, we like explored Mexico City. Then we went 333 00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:35,440 Speaker 5: to Wahawakai and we ate so much food and everything 334 00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:37,920 Speaker 5: was just so new to me, and I was so excited. 335 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:45,560 Speaker 5: I wasn't until November that it hit me that I 336 00:22:45,680 --> 00:22:48,720 Speaker 5: was in Mexico. I was working at a school that 337 00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:51,679 Speaker 5: I did not like. It was a Catholic school. I 338 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:54,439 Speaker 5: had to hire my tattoos, I had to teach a 339 00:22:54,480 --> 00:22:56,480 Speaker 5: certain way that I did not like. So I was 340 00:22:56,640 --> 00:23:00,520 Speaker 5: very unhappy. And then I ended up getting typhoid from 341 00:23:00,560 --> 00:23:03,280 Speaker 5: the food, and so I ended up going to the hospital. 342 00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:06,560 Speaker 5: I spent like two days in the hospital. I was sick. 343 00:23:06,720 --> 00:23:10,159 Speaker 5: My job responded in a very negative way to me 344 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:16,160 Speaker 5: getting sick. And then Thanksgiving led around and my family 345 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:20,439 Speaker 5: facetimed me and like Ahdi we miss you, how are you? 346 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:22,920 Speaker 5: And obviously, while I was on FaceTime, I was just 347 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:25,960 Speaker 5: smiling and talking to everyone. But as soon as I 348 00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:29,840 Speaker 5: hung up, tears started rolling down my face because that's 349 00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:34,360 Speaker 5: when it really hit me. I didn't want to complain 350 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:38,800 Speaker 5: to my husband because he had already gone through his 351 00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:44,199 Speaker 5: mourning and his sadness and his depression. That's when my 352 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:56,360 Speaker 5: low point started. After moving, we didn't have a car then, 353 00:23:57,000 --> 00:24:00,639 Speaker 5: so we had to use the public transportation. And I 354 00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:04,679 Speaker 5: hated gaining on the bus because even before pandemic, I 355 00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:07,840 Speaker 5: didn't like people touching me, and so on the comunone 356 00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:11,400 Speaker 5: there is no personal space. Everyone is touching each other, 357 00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:15,240 Speaker 5: your bodies against each other, trying to squish more people in, 358 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:19,120 Speaker 5: and so I struggled to get used to that. Because 359 00:24:19,119 --> 00:24:21,400 Speaker 5: in the United States, I had my own car. I 360 00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:24,359 Speaker 5: was up and down, going everywhere by myself. So I 361 00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:27,280 Speaker 5: felt like my independence was taken away from me for 362 00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:30,760 Speaker 5: a little while because I had to depend on public transportation. 363 00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:37,240 Speaker 5: I had to depend on my husband. He had to 364 00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:39,439 Speaker 5: go on a business trip and I got on the 365 00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:45,640 Speaker 5: bus by myself and I was assaulted on the bus 366 00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:49,640 Speaker 5: by a man. I got off of the bus before 367 00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:52,800 Speaker 5: my stop and I ended up walking home about thirty 368 00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:56,640 Speaker 5: to forty minutes. I got home, super sweaty, super ugly, 369 00:24:56,640 --> 00:24:59,159 Speaker 5: and I just started crying. And I hated life and 370 00:24:59,200 --> 00:25:02,359 Speaker 5: I hated writing the bus and I hated my job 371 00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:06,679 Speaker 5: and I couldn't talk to anyone about it. Slowly, I 372 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:08,960 Speaker 5: started to get on a routine. I learned what buses 373 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:12,600 Speaker 5: to take, and it got easier. I ended up quitting 374 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:18,239 Speaker 5: that teaching job in January of twenty nineteen because I 375 00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:21,359 Speaker 5: was just miserable. I was still kind of lost and 376 00:25:21,480 --> 00:25:25,239 Speaker 5: unsure of what to do. And so that's where I 377 00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:28,800 Speaker 5: was like, I would like to share, you know, my adventures, 378 00:25:31,960 --> 00:25:36,520 Speaker 5: and so I started to make my YouTube channel. Hey guys, 379 00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:42,520 Speaker 5: So I originally started Direbnated Foreigner Like it was born 380 00:25:42,560 --> 00:25:44,919 Speaker 5: out of my depression, in case you guys got to know, Like, 381 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:48,159 Speaker 5: I was like, what should I name it? Because my 382 00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:50,880 Speaker 5: first year here in Mexico sucked and I hated everything 383 00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:54,520 Speaker 5: and I hated everyone. I am a Mexico native because 384 00:25:54,520 --> 00:25:58,000 Speaker 5: I was born here. I'm also kind of a foreigner 385 00:25:58,320 --> 00:26:02,800 Speaker 5: because I don't know at all. I can barely speak 386 00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:07,199 Speaker 5: Spanish to begin with. And so that's where the idea 387 00:26:07,320 --> 00:26:09,280 Speaker 5: came that it was going to be my diary, and 388 00:26:09,359 --> 00:26:11,439 Speaker 5: so that's where the name came from, Diary of a 389 00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:15,679 Speaker 5: native foreigner. We got good east from the States. My 390 00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:19,840 Speaker 5: mom and my sister sent us Christmas presents. I got 391 00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:23,040 Speaker 5: like hot Cheetos, American hot Cheetos and some phar sees 392 00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:24,399 Speaker 5: and some other. 393 00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:30,080 Speaker 2: Post It wasn't easy, but Madai had managed to start 394 00:26:30,119 --> 00:26:34,199 Speaker 2: finding her way in Mexico. She missed her family, and 395 00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:37,400 Speaker 2: she also knew that as an undocumented immigrant who left 396 00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:40,879 Speaker 2: the US, she was barred from returning to the US 397 00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:43,720 Speaker 2: for at least ten years. She won't be able to 398 00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:48,560 Speaker 2: apply for tourist visa until the year twenty twenty eight. 399 00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:56,800 Speaker 2: It's a tough reality, but she at least has been 400 00:26:56,840 --> 00:27:00,840 Speaker 2: able to plan for it. And that's not always what happens, 401 00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:04,160 Speaker 2: as in the case of the third and last young 402 00:27:04,200 --> 00:27:08,000 Speaker 2: woman we're going to meet is merel Da Flores or Esme. 403 00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:12,879 Speaker 6: Once I figure out I was smart, I brought it 404 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:17,240 Speaker 6: upon myself to do everything I could to excel because 405 00:27:17,280 --> 00:27:19,000 Speaker 6: that's the only way I thought I was going to 406 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:23,360 Speaker 6: get my bression of the American dream. 407 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:27,120 Speaker 2: Esme is thirty years old, and her return to Mexico 408 00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:32,360 Speaker 2: was completely different than Madaise. She was a stellar student 409 00:27:32,560 --> 00:27:36,640 Speaker 2: in South Carolina. In twenty ten, she was offered a 410 00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:39,280 Speaker 2: full scholarship to go to college. She was going to 411 00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:42,160 Speaker 2: study chemistry then go on to law school to become 412 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:45,960 Speaker 2: a patent lawyer. But one day she got a call. 413 00:27:46,480 --> 00:27:49,880 Speaker 2: It was the administrative office from her college telling her 414 00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:54,520 Speaker 2: that they couldn't honor her scholarship because she was undocumented. 415 00:27:56,119 --> 00:28:00,600 Speaker 6: And I was like, what do you mean, Like, do 416 00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:02,920 Speaker 6: you realize I can't go to school without the scholarship. 417 00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:06,080 Speaker 6: They were like, yeah, I know. I'm very sorry, you know, 418 00:28:06,200 --> 00:28:08,520 Speaker 6: but we can't give it to you because you're undocumented. 419 00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:10,800 Speaker 6: But what we can do for you is if you 420 00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:13,960 Speaker 6: happen to get a student visa, then we can give 421 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:17,439 Speaker 6: you a scholarship for the same amount as an international student. 422 00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:21,760 Speaker 2: So she did what made more sense to her and 423 00:28:22,040 --> 00:28:25,640 Speaker 2: what the college had actually recommended. Ismay went to Mexico 424 00:28:25,800 --> 00:28:29,639 Speaker 2: to apply for an international student visa, and she's going 425 00:28:29,720 --> 00:28:31,720 Speaker 2: to tell her own story from here. 426 00:28:37,320 --> 00:28:40,640 Speaker 6: I graduated May twenty nine, twenty ten, I believe, which 427 00:28:40,680 --> 00:28:43,480 Speaker 6: was a Saturday, and a week later on June fifth, 428 00:28:43,480 --> 00:28:45,960 Speaker 6: twenty ten, which was another Saturday, I was taken a 429 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:49,360 Speaker 6: plane to come back to Mexico City. I didn't bring anything, 430 00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:51,640 Speaker 6: just a couple of clothes and that's it, you know, 431 00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:54,560 Speaker 6: because I was going back home. When my mom found 432 00:28:54,640 --> 00:28:57,120 Speaker 6: out that I was coming back, she decided that she 433 00:28:57,160 --> 00:28:59,720 Speaker 6: was going to come back with me and stay because 434 00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:02,960 Speaker 6: she had gone through a really hard time in the 435 00:29:03,080 --> 00:29:06,840 Speaker 6: US because there were family problems, problems with my dad, 436 00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:09,360 Speaker 6: and she was also alone. I mean, my dad had 437 00:29:09,520 --> 00:29:12,800 Speaker 6: his family, but my mom did it right, it was 438 00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:18,440 Speaker 6: just her. For the first weeks or so, I was 439 00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:21,760 Speaker 6: waiting for a power of attorney from my sponsor so 440 00:29:21,800 --> 00:29:23,760 Speaker 6: I could get the documents in check and then ask 441 00:29:23,800 --> 00:29:28,600 Speaker 6: for abisa appointment. And then we finally got the power 442 00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:30,560 Speaker 6: of attorney and we went to the bank to ask 443 00:29:30,600 --> 00:29:34,560 Speaker 6: for this letter that you were supposed to get, and 444 00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:37,720 Speaker 6: they tell me at the bank that they cannot give 445 00:29:37,760 --> 00:29:43,000 Speaker 6: me this paper I am requesting. I ended up in 446 00:29:43,040 --> 00:29:46,440 Speaker 6: the Gamaradevibutels, which is like the house of representative of 447 00:29:46,440 --> 00:29:51,840 Speaker 6: here in Mexico. It wasn't really until that appointment that 448 00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:55,840 Speaker 6: it hit me, because I was sitting there waiting to 449 00:29:55,880 --> 00:29:59,560 Speaker 6: talk to the secretario, and then some lady came up 450 00:29:59,560 --> 00:30:01,440 Speaker 6: to me started talking to me, asking me why I 451 00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:06,600 Speaker 6: was there and whatnot, and she was like, oh, that's 452 00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:10,840 Speaker 6: very impressive, but you should have stayed in the US 453 00:30:11,240 --> 00:30:16,560 Speaker 6: because the government does not support its students here. And 454 00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:20,240 Speaker 6: then I got to the appointment with this with the Diputao, 455 00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:23,640 Speaker 6: with a representative and then he was like, this is 456 00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:26,560 Speaker 6: very impressive, blah blah blah, but there are no funds 457 00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:30,040 Speaker 6: available to help you. And so when he tells me this, 458 00:30:30,400 --> 00:30:32,840 Speaker 6: like everything that that lady had had like came back 459 00:30:32,880 --> 00:30:35,680 Speaker 6: to me and I was like, Oh my god, what 460 00:30:35,840 --> 00:30:45,360 Speaker 6: have I done? Like really, what have I done? For 461 00:30:45,440 --> 00:30:48,160 Speaker 6: a moment there, I kind of was in a bit 462 00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:52,520 Speaker 6: of denial. My sister, she was very mad, said some 463 00:30:52,680 --> 00:30:56,960 Speaker 6: very hurtful things because this kid was my best friend, 464 00:30:57,080 --> 00:31:01,000 Speaker 6: my little sister like almost like my daughter. My family 465 00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:05,160 Speaker 6: was kind of disappointed. My sister was disappointed because she 466 00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:08,880 Speaker 6: missed me, but my family was like, should have stayed, 467 00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:14,600 Speaker 6: you should have waited open you coyote come back. By me, 468 00:31:14,760 --> 00:31:17,720 Speaker 6: being the stubborn person that I am, I was like, no, 469 00:31:18,360 --> 00:31:19,760 Speaker 6: if I'm going to come back, I'm going to come 470 00:31:19,760 --> 00:31:21,280 Speaker 6: back with a visa, and they're going to ask me 471 00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:25,240 Speaker 6: to come back in the US. I had never drunk, 472 00:31:25,520 --> 00:31:27,800 Speaker 6: I had never smoked, I had never had sex. I 473 00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:31,200 Speaker 6: was like the definition of miss Goody to choose right. 474 00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:35,200 Speaker 6: And when I got here, even though I was pretending 475 00:31:35,320 --> 00:31:38,640 Speaker 6: to be okay and I enrolled in school, I started drinking. 476 00:31:38,920 --> 00:31:41,000 Speaker 6: And I had a bit of an alcohol problem, honestly, 477 00:31:41,760 --> 00:31:45,560 Speaker 6: and so I would honestly sometimes show up drunk to classes, 478 00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:50,040 Speaker 6: and even so I still got the second highest grades 479 00:31:50,320 --> 00:31:53,960 Speaker 6: in my class. And so it was like, if I 480 00:31:54,040 --> 00:31:57,080 Speaker 6: can come to school so drunk that I trip over 481 00:31:57,160 --> 00:31:59,680 Speaker 6: a bench before one of my final exams and still 482 00:31:59,720 --> 00:32:02,600 Speaker 6: get a really high grade, then is this place even 483 00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:07,760 Speaker 6: worth my money? So I dropped out, and then I 484 00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:09,920 Speaker 6: got into a call center where I worked for two 485 00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:15,040 Speaker 6: and a half years. I would take calls, get drunk, 486 00:32:16,160 --> 00:32:22,480 Speaker 6: take calls, get drunk. It was a really dark time 487 00:32:22,680 --> 00:32:28,920 Speaker 6: professionally and emotionally. It was fun sometimes, and I learned 488 00:32:28,920 --> 00:32:36,960 Speaker 6: a lot about myself. The call centers are a really 489 00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:41,120 Speaker 6: weird place. I mean, just think about it. You put 490 00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:43,960 Speaker 6: a lot of people that are returneys and depouties that 491 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:47,720 Speaker 6: have gone through similar situations in the same place. It 492 00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:54,440 Speaker 6: can get kind of not healthy. This capital system has 493 00:32:54,560 --> 00:32:57,120 Speaker 6: figured out that if they deport us and then make 494 00:32:57,200 --> 00:33:00,320 Speaker 6: us work for a lower salary here in Mexico, that 495 00:33:00,440 --> 00:33:07,920 Speaker 6: it's really good for them. For a woman, especially in 496 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:11,360 Speaker 6: this city, in a state where there's ten feminist site 497 00:33:11,760 --> 00:33:16,280 Speaker 6: a day, saying that you're retorney or deeperty is announcing 498 00:33:16,280 --> 00:33:22,640 Speaker 6: to the role that you're alone, and that is not safe. 499 00:33:22,960 --> 00:33:26,040 Speaker 6: We have people that have been burbally and physically attacked 500 00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:30,280 Speaker 6: for speaking English in Mexico because we don't look white, 501 00:33:30,280 --> 00:33:33,920 Speaker 6: we don't look foreigner, so it's not acceptable for us 502 00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:43,160 Speaker 6: to speak English. And then Zaca got announced. I saw it. 503 00:33:43,520 --> 00:33:50,360 Speaker 6: I felt bad about it, probably drink it away, the sadness, 504 00:33:50,640 --> 00:33:53,600 Speaker 6: because what were I going to do across the border 505 00:33:53,720 --> 00:33:59,520 Speaker 6: as a nineteen twenty year old woman by myself, in 506 00:33:59,560 --> 00:34:04,560 Speaker 6: this world that is nothing like it was before two thousand? 507 00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:10,000 Speaker 6: What am I gonna go back to? Being documented? Was 508 00:34:10,080 --> 00:34:24,359 Speaker 6: so hard? I'm gonna be very honest. If my mother 509 00:34:24,400 --> 00:34:26,760 Speaker 6: had not come back with me, I would have probably 510 00:34:26,800 --> 00:34:34,480 Speaker 6: died like figuratu relief and metaphorically of sadness or like 511 00:34:34,600 --> 00:34:36,880 Speaker 6: literally being run over because I didn't know what to 512 00:34:36,920 --> 00:34:39,080 Speaker 6: do in this big city, right. I mean, I grew 513 00:34:39,160 --> 00:34:42,560 Speaker 6: up in the middle of an now South Carolina. One 514 00:34:42,680 --> 00:34:48,640 Speaker 6: day I woke up from a three day consecutive partying 515 00:34:49,400 --> 00:34:53,360 Speaker 6: with obviously the biggest hangover in the world. And I 516 00:34:53,400 --> 00:34:55,920 Speaker 6: woke up and I was like, dude, I'm twenty one, 517 00:34:56,440 --> 00:34:59,680 Speaker 6: Like what am I doing with my life? I'm to 518 00:34:59,760 --> 00:35:05,000 Speaker 6: get my stuff together. And so I started taking a 519 00:35:05,040 --> 00:35:07,799 Speaker 6: Spanish course in a Mexican history course, and I was like, 520 00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:09,360 Speaker 6: if I'm going to do this, I'm going to do 521 00:35:09,400 --> 00:35:11,000 Speaker 6: this right, and I'm going to do this the way 522 00:35:11,040 --> 00:35:12,560 Speaker 6: I know how to do right, and I'm going to 523 00:35:12,600 --> 00:35:17,359 Speaker 6: apply for the faculty of law. Even though I had 524 00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:21,840 Speaker 6: these things going for me, I still thought, how do 525 00:35:21,920 --> 00:35:24,600 Speaker 6: I get back? How do I get back to my sister? 526 00:35:25,120 --> 00:35:28,000 Speaker 6: And so when I was in sixth semester, which was 527 00:35:28,040 --> 00:35:33,080 Speaker 6: like in twenty sixteen, I applied to an international law 528 00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:36,600 Speaker 6: competition because I was like, maybe if I'm here right, 529 00:35:36,680 --> 00:35:40,160 Speaker 6: I can get the visa. I actually applied that year 530 00:35:40,280 --> 00:35:43,040 Speaker 6: for my visa for the first time, and it got denied. 531 00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:53,000 Speaker 6: And that's when it was like, I'm still doing everything 532 00:35:54,719 --> 00:36:06,520 Speaker 6: just to go back. I started going to immigration forums 533 00:36:06,560 --> 00:36:09,600 Speaker 6: and I remember looking at the flyer and at the 534 00:36:09,640 --> 00:36:13,400 Speaker 6: itinerary and it said Maggie Loredo Utras Rims and Axion 535 00:36:13,760 --> 00:36:16,560 Speaker 6: testimonium about being a returneye in Mexico. 536 00:36:18,080 --> 00:36:21,759 Speaker 2: It was the same Maggie who we heard from at 537 00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:27,799 Speaker 2: the beginning of this story, and when we had last 538 00:36:27,840 --> 00:36:31,439 Speaker 2: heard from Maggie it was twenty twelve and Daca had 539 00:36:31,560 --> 00:36:35,840 Speaker 2: just been created. But now six years later, Maggie was 540 00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:39,439 Speaker 2: in a completely different place. She had connected with other 541 00:36:39,520 --> 00:36:43,520 Speaker 2: retorneys who helped validate her high school diploma in Mexico. 542 00:36:44,200 --> 00:36:46,880 Speaker 2: She had also told her story in a book called 543 00:36:47,160 --> 00:36:51,600 Speaker 2: Los Otros Dreamers The Other Dreamers, published in twenty fourteen 544 00:36:52,239 --> 00:36:54,759 Speaker 2: that put her in contact with even more people who 545 00:36:54,800 --> 00:36:59,399 Speaker 2: had been deported or who had returned to Mexico. So 546 00:37:00,080 --> 00:37:00,840 Speaker 2: Yere's Maggie. 547 00:37:01,120 --> 00:37:04,440 Speaker 1: Once again, all the work that I had done in 548 00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:08,080 Speaker 1: Georgia sort of came back to me because I was 549 00:37:08,160 --> 00:37:10,520 Speaker 1: part of this community and I was meeting all these people. 550 00:37:10,960 --> 00:37:14,960 Speaker 2: A year later, Maggie and Jill Anderson, the book's coordinator, 551 00:37:15,280 --> 00:37:19,920 Speaker 2: founded oh that Otro's Dreams and Accion Other Dreams in 552 00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:23,520 Speaker 2: Action in order to organize and support people who grew 553 00:37:23,560 --> 00:37:26,440 Speaker 2: up in the US and had returned or had been 554 00:37:26,480 --> 00:37:27,560 Speaker 2: deported to Mexico. 555 00:37:28,239 --> 00:37:32,720 Speaker 1: We knew that our first project would be a community center, 556 00:37:32,800 --> 00:37:40,759 Speaker 1: a cultural center. At that moment with the community, we consulted, 557 00:37:40,880 --> 00:37:43,120 Speaker 1: how do you want to name this space? There were 558 00:37:43,160 --> 00:37:46,319 Speaker 1: so many options, like the crib or something I don't 559 00:37:46,360 --> 00:37:50,239 Speaker 1: know what else, and it ended up being house. 560 00:37:50,360 --> 00:37:54,240 Speaker 2: But your house in order to reclaim the once derogatory 561 00:37:54,360 --> 00:37:58,680 Speaker 2: term that other Mexicans used against those who have lived 562 00:37:58,719 --> 00:38:01,839 Speaker 2: in the US and a kind of Spanglish. 563 00:38:02,520 --> 00:38:06,400 Speaker 1: We always ambition that Pocha House will be a space 564 00:38:06,480 --> 00:38:10,759 Speaker 1: where people who had experiences of living undocumented in the 565 00:38:10,920 --> 00:38:14,359 Speaker 1: US are growing up undocumented in the US, that there 566 00:38:14,400 --> 00:38:16,960 Speaker 1: would be a space for them to just come and 567 00:38:17,080 --> 00:38:19,759 Speaker 1: know that they could speak Spanglish, know that they could 568 00:38:20,040 --> 00:38:24,760 Speaker 1: talk about their experiences, know that they could find resources. 569 00:38:27,960 --> 00:38:32,120 Speaker 2: They provide information on how to navigate Mexican bureaucracy in 570 00:38:32,200 --> 00:38:36,560 Speaker 2: order to access healthcare or education, and they also organize 571 00:38:36,640 --> 00:38:40,120 Speaker 2: politically to change the narrative of what it means to 572 00:38:40,120 --> 00:38:44,319 Speaker 2: be a deportee or a retorneye. Ultimately, they care for 573 00:38:44,360 --> 00:38:47,279 Speaker 2: a community that has been largely ignored by both the 574 00:38:47,400 --> 00:38:51,400 Speaker 2: US and the Mexican governments. And it was because of 575 00:38:51,520 --> 00:38:55,640 Speaker 2: other that in twenty eighteen, Maggie was at the Immigration 576 00:38:55,880 --> 00:38:58,759 Speaker 2: forum that Esme was attending. 577 00:38:59,040 --> 00:39:04,880 Speaker 6: And I remember thinking, great, another sad story, right, another sad, 578 00:39:05,000 --> 00:39:10,640 Speaker 6: sad testimony. I was like, oh my god. And then 579 00:39:10,680 --> 00:39:14,759 Speaker 6: it wasn't and then it was great. And then it 580 00:39:14,840 --> 00:39:17,759 Speaker 6: was her telling all the government officials that were there 581 00:39:17,880 --> 00:39:20,600 Speaker 6: that they were at fault, that they were not doing enough, 582 00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:24,279 Speaker 6: that they were not doing us a favor, and I 583 00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:29,120 Speaker 6: was like whoa. And of course some parts were sad, 584 00:39:29,160 --> 00:39:34,440 Speaker 6: because it's sad. Family separation sucks. But I remember this 585 00:39:34,520 --> 00:39:37,640 Speaker 6: other epiphany moment when she was talking. She was talking 586 00:39:37,640 --> 00:39:41,719 Speaker 6: about her brother and she said, but nobody's ever going 587 00:39:41,760 --> 00:39:45,520 Speaker 6: to give me back the time I didn't have with him, 588 00:39:45,719 --> 00:39:50,280 Speaker 6: And it hit me. I was like, it doesn't matter 589 00:39:50,640 --> 00:39:55,440 Speaker 6: if I get my visa now today, this very moment, 590 00:39:56,840 --> 00:39:59,000 Speaker 6: nobody's going to even give me back the years with 591 00:39:59,160 --> 00:40:03,640 Speaker 6: my sister. Nothing is going to be the same. So 592 00:40:03,760 --> 00:40:22,880 Speaker 6: why focus all of my life on going back. This 593 00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:26,040 Speaker 6: is what I want to do, right, I want to 594 00:40:26,120 --> 00:40:28,640 Speaker 6: do what they did for me. And so I applied 595 00:40:28,760 --> 00:40:33,120 Speaker 6: for the coordinatorial company and I got in and everything 596 00:40:33,160 --> 00:40:36,840 Speaker 6: has been better ever since because I feel like the 597 00:40:36,960 --> 00:40:42,560 Speaker 6: emotional support was something I needed from people that knew 598 00:40:42,640 --> 00:40:45,240 Speaker 6: how it was to be a returney or a deperty, 599 00:40:45,360 --> 00:40:48,560 Speaker 6: you know, like how it was to not have family 600 00:40:49,520 --> 00:40:50,839 Speaker 6: that can always back you up. 601 00:40:54,640 --> 00:40:59,120 Speaker 2: To Esme and Madai, Maggie became an inspiration. 602 00:41:00,320 --> 00:41:04,000 Speaker 5: We joke and we say that Maggie kidnapped us and 603 00:41:04,080 --> 00:41:09,520 Speaker 5: got us involved. I just felt so happy because that 604 00:41:10,040 --> 00:41:13,880 Speaker 5: feeling of being alone was gone, and all I wanted 605 00:41:13,880 --> 00:41:16,239 Speaker 5: to do was how can I be part of it? 606 00:41:16,400 --> 00:41:20,759 Speaker 5: How can I help give this happiness and ease to 607 00:41:20,880 --> 00:41:21,560 Speaker 5: someone else? 608 00:41:23,640 --> 00:41:28,239 Speaker 2: For Maggie, the uncertainty after leaving the US has been 609 00:41:28,360 --> 00:41:32,440 Speaker 2: transformed into a real kind of purpose and meaning. 610 00:41:33,480 --> 00:41:36,040 Speaker 1: I don't know what I was searching when I made 611 00:41:36,200 --> 00:41:40,120 Speaker 1: that forced decision to come back to Mexico, but I 612 00:41:40,160 --> 00:41:44,160 Speaker 1: think that now I understand a lot what I was 613 00:41:44,200 --> 00:41:47,920 Speaker 1: looking for, and I was looking I was looking for 614 00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:51,359 Speaker 1: a community, because. 615 00:41:57,600 --> 00:42:00,719 Speaker 6: Community building is more than just put it sizing, is 616 00:42:00,719 --> 00:42:06,279 Speaker 6: also creating bonds and having friendships, long lasting friendships that 617 00:42:06,400 --> 00:42:08,880 Speaker 6: support you, you know, like that will throw you a 618 00:42:08,960 --> 00:42:14,719 Speaker 6: baby shower, that will go to your graduation, who you 619 00:42:14,800 --> 00:42:17,520 Speaker 6: can have Thanksgiving with if you have nobody else to 620 00:42:17,560 --> 00:42:22,359 Speaker 6: have Thanksgiving with. We don't call it Thanksgiving. We call 621 00:42:22,400 --> 00:42:32,200 Speaker 6: it bix InterSystems. Yet, because of the genocide tie to Thanksgivings. 622 00:42:32,600 --> 00:42:40,880 Speaker 1: And we now spend that dinner evening as a community, 623 00:42:41,440 --> 00:42:44,000 Speaker 1: not only thinking about our loved ones in the US 624 00:42:44,040 --> 00:42:48,919 Speaker 1: and our families that are separated, but also recreating new 625 00:42:49,000 --> 00:42:54,279 Speaker 1: traditions and new labs and new moments with with ourselves 626 00:42:54,320 --> 00:43:07,200 Speaker 1: as a community. Okay, se. 627 00:43:13,200 --> 00:43:29,360 Speaker 5: Are you so many safe space brota. 628 00:43:24,000 --> 00:43:27,839 Speaker 6: One time you can we get the chance to reconnect, 629 00:43:28,200 --> 00:43:32,680 Speaker 6: to have fun, to share a meal Southern cooking that 630 00:43:32,719 --> 00:43:33,520 Speaker 6: we all missed. 631 00:43:41,280 --> 00:43:46,120 Speaker 5: And so it fills my heart with so much joy 632 00:43:46,280 --> 00:43:49,440 Speaker 5: to be in this physical space with everyone that I 633 00:43:49,520 --> 00:43:54,840 Speaker 5: know shares similar story, similar fights, and we all believe 634 00:43:54,960 --> 00:43:56,759 Speaker 5: in the same thing and we're all part of the 635 00:43:56,880 --> 00:44:00,319 Speaker 5: same community that is just here for your child there 636 00:44:00,320 --> 00:44:01,960 Speaker 5: without any judgments. 637 00:44:02,840 --> 00:44:03,080 Speaker 6: You know. 638 00:44:17,840 --> 00:44:22,240 Speaker 2: It's unclear how many people living in Mexico have similar 639 00:44:22,280 --> 00:44:27,480 Speaker 2: return stories as Maggie, Esme and Mavai, because there are 640 00:44:27,560 --> 00:44:33,239 Speaker 2: no official records tracking this specific community, but estimates from 641 00:44:33,239 --> 00:44:37,840 Speaker 2: the Migration Policy Institute suggest that between nine to fifteen 642 00:44:38,080 --> 00:44:42,279 Speaker 2: thousand people who would have been eligible for DACA had 643 00:44:42,320 --> 00:44:46,000 Speaker 2: already left the United States for Mexico before the creation 644 00:44:46,239 --> 00:44:49,800 Speaker 2: of the program in twenty twelve, and there's no data 645 00:44:49,880 --> 00:44:54,200 Speaker 2: available for the number of DACA recipients who have returned 646 00:44:54,320 --> 00:45:00,360 Speaker 2: to Mexico. On July sixteenth of twenty twenty one, one 647 00:45:00,800 --> 00:45:05,040 Speaker 2: DACA was ruled unlawful by a federal judge in Texas. 648 00:45:05,880 --> 00:45:10,160 Speaker 2: The US government may continue to accept new applications, but 649 00:45:10,360 --> 00:45:16,040 Speaker 2: is temporarily prohibited from approving them. Current DACA recipients can 650 00:45:16,120 --> 00:45:19,240 Speaker 2: retain the ability to stay and work in the US 651 00:45:19,840 --> 00:45:38,800 Speaker 2: while the program continues to be challenged in the courts. 652 00:45:45,320 --> 00:45:49,440 Speaker 2: This episode was produced by Victoria Estrada and Fatricia s Urbran. 653 00:45:49,880 --> 00:45:53,040 Speaker 2: It was edited by Julio Ricardo Barela and mixed by 654 00:45:53,080 --> 00:45:58,040 Speaker 2: Julia Caruso and Jjkrubin. The Latino USA team includes Andrea 655 00:45:58,080 --> 00:46:04,600 Speaker 2: Lopez Grusabo, Marta Martis, Daisy Contreras, Mike Sargent, Julieta Martinelli, Rinaldo, 656 00:46:04,680 --> 00:46:09,719 Speaker 2: Leanos Junior, Alejandra Salassa, and Julia Rocha, with help from 657 00:46:10,000 --> 00:46:13,560 Speaker 2: Raoul Perez. Our director of engineering is Stephanie lebou. Our 658 00:46:13,600 --> 00:46:17,799 Speaker 2: associate engineer is gabriel A Biez. Our digital editor is 659 00:46:17,920 --> 00:46:21,880 Speaker 2: Louis Luna. Our fellows are Elisa Reena, Monica Morales and 660 00:46:21,880 --> 00:46:26,040 Speaker 2: Andrew Vignalis. Our theme music was composed by Sane Rubinos. 661 00:46:26,480 --> 00:46:29,520 Speaker 2: I'm your host and executive producer Mariao Josa. Join us 662 00:46:29,520 --> 00:46:32,040 Speaker 2: again on our next episode, and in the meantime, look 663 00:46:32,080 --> 00:46:34,560 Speaker 2: for us on all of your social media. Die perda 664 00:46:34,640 --> 00:46:36,680 Speaker 2: de noyes. 665 00:46:36,239 --> 00:46:42,880 Speaker 7: Ciao Latino USA is made possible in part by the 666 00:46:43,000 --> 00:46:47,160 Speaker 7: John D. And Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Ford Foundation, 667 00:46:47,760 --> 00:46:51,880 Speaker 7: working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide, 668 00:46:52,480 --> 00:46:58,760 Speaker 7: and the Heising Simons Foundation unlocking knowledge, opportunity and possibilities 669 00:46:59,120 --> 00:47:01,640 Speaker 7: more at h AS foundation dot org. 670 00:47:05,280 --> 00:47:08,080 Speaker 5: I was telling them that my throat is sor because 671 00:47:08,120 --> 00:47:10,160 Speaker 5: I've been yelling at my kids at school.