One student’s story of trek to the U.S.

Editor’s Note: Given the rhetoric from presidential candidates on immigration policy, the Hatters’ Herald asked some of DHS’s English Language Learners about the challenges they have faced. Features Editor Natalie Ceciliano conducted the interviews in Spanish and translated them into English. We are identifying one student by the name of Jason to protect his identity.

Traveling can always be such a hassle, with figuring out your flight and waking up early to get to the airport, but imagine traveling from country to country for days packed into a truck with multiple other people.

That is what many emigrating illegally to the United States have to go through. According to the Department of Homeland Security, about 700,000 illegal immigrants enter the United States each year and remain in the country.

Most of those who come to the United States illegally come terrified that they will get caught and Jason is one of these people.

“I came to this country as an illegal immigrant, and it was very difficult,” said Jason, a junior from Ecuador. ‘I was scared because when I was coming to this country, I didn’t know what my journey was going to be like.”

He explains that his goal was to get to the United States and stay here with his parents. If he were to get caught, he would have found a way to return so that he could follow his dreams.

Jason is one of many foreign-born students enrolled in DHS’s English as a Second Language program. Like many of his peers, he has found the transition to the U.S. public school system difficult and challenging, mainly because of the communication divide.

“The first day of my journey I arrived in Peru,” he recalled. “It was difficult because I didn’t know anyone, and all my family and friends were too far away for me to do anything. Even though I didn’t have anyone I was still happy because I was going to be able to come to the United States and be with my parents after 13 years of not seeing them.”

When he was 5, his parents left him in Ecuador so they could come to the states, work, and send money back to their family.

“They left when I was 5 years old, which was very difficult because after they left I had to help my grandmother take care of my younger siblings,” Jason said.

After Peru, Jason continued on to Honduras. He explains that he rode in a truck with about 30 other people. The truck would go down the worst roads to avoid detection, and often they would have to hide from authorities.

“There would be days that I was hungry and thirsty, and didn’t have anything to eat or drink,” Jason recalled. “When I did have food, it was food I wasn’t used to, but I was forced to get used to it, because there was nothing else to eat. After that I learned how to value the plate of food my grandmother always set own in front of me. I missed everything that I couldn’t have while on my journey, ” Jason said.

Once to the Mexican border, he had to wade the Rio Grande.

“Eventually it came time when I had to cross the river,” said Jason. “I was scared that when I was crossing I would get stuck in the current and drown. I was crossing in a group of six and a couple of them passed before me and got caught by immigration.”

So he turned back and waited another two days before trying again.

“I was lucky enough to not get caught by immigration. I have a necklace that my father gave me, and I felt like it saved me. It means a lot to me because when I was crossing the river, I slipped and almost died,” said Jason.

Although scarred in many ways by the journey, Jason said he’s a better person for the experience.

“While passing the border,” Jason reflected, “I went through multiple things that I will carry with me for the rest of my life, and the journey I took helped me value everything that I have today.”