Empowering Migrants' Voices by Jose Ruiz

Migration Story Excerpt:

Julia Lopez Cruz was born in Puebla, Mexico on October 1st 1969. Her mother then moved to Guadalajara Jalisco, Mexico where she grew up and met my father Pastor Ruiz. They married in February 1986, and this is where her migration story begins. After being married for a year my father decided to move to the United States of America to pursue a better economic income for him and his wife. He already had family in the states, so it was an easy step for him to take. After some months away from my dad, my mother also left Guadalajara behind in search of a better income and opportunities. She left her family and home behind with the plan of going to the United States and working for 3 years to return and have enough money to build a better home for her mother and her family in Guadalajara. Julia, at merely 18 years of age left Guadalajara with a heavy heart knowing the dangers and the risk it takes to cross the United States border, but she headed there determined and excited to start a better life.

On the first day of her journey, Julia got on a plane and headed towards Tijuana. It was her first time traveling outside of Guadalajara. The flight from Guadalajara to Tijuana seemed long on paper but to her it felt short because of her excitement and anticipation for the adventure. Once she landed in Tijuana she met up with the pollero and found out the exact plan for her migration into the United States. A pollero is a person who trafficks immigrants across the border illegally. Sometimes these polleros are connected to the organized crime that works in the border regions of Mexico. She spent a whole day in Tijuana preparing for the journey. At this point she was scared and horrified because of all the stories she heard about Narcos and abductors that had plagued the “frontera” (border).

On the second day of her journey, she made the first attempt to cross the Tijuana Border. While crossing there was a woman also making the journey, but she wasn’t alone, she was with 2 of her kids. My mother helped the lady carry a one year old while the lady carried a 5-year-old. The 5-year-old had to go to the bathroom so him and his mother fell behind. My mother was ahead of them by quite a bit. When she turned around, she saw the mom and kid being taken by border patrol. Julia couldn’t turn back and hand over the kid she was carrying because that would mean she would also be taken by border patrol. The pollero wanted her to just drop the kid and continue with their journey since he wasn’t getting paid for the kid’s way. Julia disgusted and enraged refused and made her way back to Tijuana. Once in Tijuana, she waited outside of the detention center until the mother and the other kid got released to give the kid back to them. She then was stuck back in Tijuana for the remainder of the day.

On the third day, she made her second attempt at crossing the Tijuana border towards San Ysidro. She made her crossing with no problems this time around, but the pollero was now irritated and mad at her because of the stunt she had pulled the day before and making them a day late. She was scared and nervous because now the adventure had become hostile. My father had to arrange to pay the pollero more once they arrived in Los Angeles to ensure the safety and well-being of Julia. Once in San Ysidro they arrived at a motel where her pollero met up with other polleros and migrants.

Essay II Excerpt: 

Many times immigrants are scared to speak up because of the racist acts that are shown to others in similar positions. Most immigrants have their own stories to tell as they come from different countries and have all gone threw a different path on how they get to their destination or how their lives have changed since making the decision to migrate. For example, there are people who travel from Mexico to the United States taking many different paths that may include going through the river or desert in search for a better future and better opportunities that their country could not provide for them.

Hip Hop Element:

Community Call to Action:

The American dream no longer exist in our society, however we can bring it back and resuscitate it by giving migrants a voice. Giving migrants a voice to express their self and share their experiences to teach everyone about different points of views and ways to solve world issues can benefit society as a whole.