After much debate, on May 2, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill that outlines a plan for compressive immigration reform. Passing with a 13-5 vote, this bill could be the next step towards creating a path to citizenship for the 11.1 million undocumented immigrants that currently reside in the United States. Proposed by the nonpartisan Gang of Eight, it introduces measures to strengthen border security and ensure that employers are not hiring undocumented immigrants as well as helping currently undocumented residents obtain legal status.

Endy Segoviano, a college student living in Santa Barbara is a major supporter of immigration reform. As a Mexican immigrant who has been fortunate enough to obtain American citizenship,  Segoviano hopes that other people can avoid the struggles that he and his family have faced since crossing the Mexican American border with the help of  “coyotes,” professionals who earn their livings by helping people illegally cross the border.

“The crossing of the border is dangerous and it can take weeks, days, or even months,” explained Segoviano. “Luckily, our family made it across the border on the first pass. For some people it can take multiple attempts because they’ll get caught and taken back to Mexico.”

His father was the first to come so that he could get a job and establish himself in the U.S.  A few years later, after he could adequately support his family, Endy’s father sent for the rest of the family to join him in Santa Barbara, California. “During the first few years we were hiding. It wasn’t comfortable. We were aliens. Every time we saw a cop, we were anxious.”

“We lived in a one-bedroom apartment with ten or more other illegal immigrants. It was difficult for my father to support us because he didn’t have a steady income. He didn’t have papers, so he couldn’t demand fair wages. My mother, siblings, and I eventually moved back to Mexico and we returned to Santa Barbara in 2002, because my father had gotten a green card which gave him permanent residency.” 

In order to obtain a green card, his father’s employer sponsored him and his father paid lawyers thousands of dollars to help accompany him through the legal process. Interestingly, “it’s a lot easier to apply for citizenship than it is to get permanent residency” according to Segoviano. 

“The government should make it easier to obtain permanent residency so that we can live and work here legally, and people wouldn’t have to put themselves through the danger of crossing the border illegally.”

In reference to his other relatives living in California, Segoviano explained, “they work hard and they work off the books because they aren’t legally residing in the U.S. They don’t have their papers, so they can’t demand higher wages. They work in fisheries, where they prepare the fish for local restaurants. If you look at their hands, they are damaged from working long hours and freezing the fish.” 

The Segoviano family didn’t come with the intention of staying in the U.S., but “three months turned into six months. A year turned into a couple of years,” Segoviano explained. His mother decided to take classes at Santa Barbara City College where she learned English and prepared to take the citizenship test. On her first try, his mother obtained her citizenship, making Segoviano and his siblings automatically citizens too. 

But unlike the Segoviano family, many immigrants are unable to obtain green cards or citizenship under current policies, and for some immigrants that isn’t even the goal. "From my experience talking to friends and family, I would say about 80% of immigrants come with the mentality that they will eventually return to Mexico. They come here to earn money to support their families back home in Mexico. One of my uncles has been working in construction here for 60 years with the mentality that he will eventually return.” 

When asked how he felt about his own citizenship, Endy replied. “I couldn’t imagine what my life would have been like if I had not grown up in the U.S. I probably would be working three jobs right now, waking up at 5am and coming home by 8pm. I probably would have dropped out of high school. In my hometown it is a fantasy to go to college because it is very expensive. There is a lot of poverty. There are not as many opportunities there. I am very grateful for what my parents did, they struggled and they sacrificed a lot for our family.”

It is important to humanize the effects of such legislation to remember how it may affect families and communities in the future. Like the Segoviano family’s struggle for citizenship, the path to citizenship will be full of obstacles for the 11.1 million undocumented residents with provisions that require them to pass criminal background checks, show their ability to read, write, and speak English, demonstrate knowledge of civics, show proof of employment, and pay penalty taxes. 

Keep checking back with Neon Tommy to see how the discussion on immigration reform continues.

 

Contact Staff Reporter Elizabeth Cutbirth here.