Thread: After 5 years in Alabama, new law has illegal immigrant fami

After 5 years in Alabama, new law has illegal immigrant family packing

October 05, 2011|
By Gustavo Valdes, CNN


Gabriela Vazquez maneuvers through piles of clothes and toys while trying to control her two small children.

"They never stop," she says, while pulling a pair of pants from an almost-empty drawer and deciding whether to toss the pants to the "keep" or "leave" pile. The decision is not an easy one.

Vazquez is attempting to pack five years of her life in the United States into only a handful of bags.

"I crossed over into the U.S. with nothing but my clothes, so I'm taking nothing, only my clothes and my kids," she says.

Vazquez began packing moments after a federal judge in Birmingham, Alabama, last week allowed most of the state's controversial law, known as HB56, against illegal immigration to go into effect.

Judge refuses to block law during appeal

The law allows police officers to check the legal status of people when suspicions exists, detain them and turn them over to federal authorities. It is described by both its supporters and its opponents as the strictest state immigration law in the nation.

Law's enactment spooks immigrants

"We expected the judge to rule like the other judges who blocked the laws in Arizona and Georgia," Vazquez says, referring to similar anti-illegal immigration laws approved in those states, with federal judges subsequently blocking the more severe parts of those bills.

"Now, they can take me away from my children anytime," Vazquez says.

Her journey began five years ago when she and her husband left the Mexican state of MIchoacan and headed north in search of jobs.

"In Mexico, it is hard to find a job. I'm 35 years old, and the ads seeking help say they want people between the ages of 18 and 35," Vazquez says.

"It wasn't easy coming over. We left our parents, our siblings, our family, and they didn't know what was going to happen to us."

The couple entered the United States illegally and headed for Montgomery, where they had relatives. They first rented a room in a mobile home with other families until they found jobs. Vazquez's husband, Marco, became a carpet installer while she jumped from job to job in restaurants, hotels and grocery stores.

Deportations will set record in 2011, Napolitano says

They managed to save enough to move into their own place. Along the way, she gave birth to a boy, now 4 years old, and a girl, now 2.

"I was not planning on having kids, but here they are," Vazquez says with a smile.

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-10-05/us/u ... e?_s=PM:US

There is more than one page to this story. Here's the rest:

A year ago they bought a mobile home that they renovated themselves. Vazquez proudly shows pictures of the transformation of the dwelling, and points out the kitchen cabinets she sanded and repainted. She also brags about her husband's work replacing the floor and walls, and the brand-new electric range the couple bought after the old gas one that came with the mobile home exploded during the renovation.

"There was a small leak and the thing just blew up," she says.
The final product is a two-bedroom house fully furnished for a family of four. A large wrap-around sofa fills the living room in front of an old model big-screen TV set.

A desktop computer sits on a breakfast bar that divides the living room from the kitchen, where a glass table for six can be found. All those belongings will be left behind unless they find a buyer soon.

Vazquez apologizes for the mess she says is caused by her efforts to pack as soon as possible.

The freshly painted walls have few pictures on them but the nails where many portraits hung a few days ago are still visible.

When her husband arrives from work, the two kids are happy to see their father, especially the little girl, who doesn't want to leave her mother's side.

Marco Vazquez is a reluctant participant in his wife's plan, which calls for her to return to Mexico with the kids while he stays behind to try to sell their belongings before he joins them. He would prefer to have his family wait so they can all leave at the same time.

"I ask her to stay just long enough so we can save the money to take the truck back to Mexico, but she has made up her mind," he says.

Gabriela Vazquez hangs up the phone. She has been talking with her mother in Michoacan, who is already planning for her return. In a matter of minutes she warms corn tortillas on the stove and makes her husband some tacos filled with cochinita pibil -- shredded pork in a red chili sauce typical of southern Mexico.

The little boy comes asking if they can watch a movie. He wants to see "Finding Nemo," but his mother convinces him to watch something else. "Nemo" is already packed away, but she doesn't want to tell him that.

"It is hard," she says. "I've been crying all weekend long and he cried when he saw me. He asks, 'Why do we have to go, why am I not going to school anymore?'"

She decided to pull her son out of pre-kindergarten the same day HB56 went onto effect.

Her fear was that she would be arrested while he was in school and authorities would turn him over to child-support services.

She says the African-American teacher cried when she told her they were leaving,

"I held back tears as she told me about the struggles the black community had fought in this same state," she says.

And she is not the only one to take her kids out of school. According to the Alabama secretary of education, more than 2,000 Hispanic children have skipped school since the law went into effect.

By nightfall, Marco Vazquez is playing outside with the kids. A friend arrives and Marco offers him a room to stay once his wife leaves. The man agrees but says he can only pay $50 a month -- that is, if he can keep his job. Marco agrees and turns his attention back to the kids.

His wife comes out with two bags full of clothes and tosses them in the back of the pickup truck, telling her husband to give them away. He takes a look and sees clothes the kids wore just a few days ago. He also finds a bag full of toys and a couple of strollers.

"Those were expensive," he says.

Gabriela Vazquez shrugs and goes back inside to continue packing for the trip.

The couple entered the United States illegally and headed to Montgomery, where they had relatives".....more illegal relatives, or LEGAL relatives who aided and abetted these illegal aliens?

Thanks Mayday.

Cry me a river,,, go home to Mexico and come back when you learn how to obey the law. Until then I don't feel sorry for you. If there are twelve million illegals here there are twelve million sob stories. Go cry on Caleron's shoulder will you? You have no right to be here!

Adios invaders!

Obama and Holder are very anxious to repeal this law because the longer this law is in effect the more Americans will see that it's works and works well and that "We the People" don't have to spend one red cent to deport illegals!

She didn't want to have kids "But here they are" because she didn't have to pay to have them and you can't get foodstamps without them!

America's Voice is livid over this law, so it must be working real good.

It sure would've been nice if this liberal ass rag were to tell the whole story instead of the whiny illegal version!

They came here illegally and I hope they get to take nothing with them, maybe they'll think twice before crossing illegally!

I can't wait till all these illegals take off with all these cars and trucks they're making payments on! That will be the icing on the cake!

It is working.

She says the African-American teacher cried when she told her they were leaving,

"I held back tears as she told me about the struggles the black community had fought in this same state," she says.

I absolutely hate the way they bring up the struggles the black community had. It is NOT the same story and their story has nothing to do with being here illegally!

The illegals organizers use this a way to ally African Americans to their side, regardless of the logic. To me the key to this statement was that the the woman was a teacher and the teacher's unions have been all on board for illegal immigration. More jobs for the taxpayers to pay. Sort of like the farmers that use illegals and pay them in cash to avoid taxes.