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El Mirage Library helps immigrants gain residency
by Jeffrey Javier - Sept. 6, 2008 07:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Alma Romero was afraid to leave her home.

She and her husband, Ramon, were both illegal immigrants, and she would not go out for fear of being deported.

She had wanted to travel with her husband and two daughters for a long time, but she was afraid if they were pulled over they would be arrested and sent to Mexico. For 12 years, she hasn't seen her parents living in her home state of Sinaloa.

But after spending numerous hours studying English and learning about American culture, all by borrowing study books and a citizenship videotape from the El Mirage Library, she is now looking forward to a Christmas visit home.

The Romeros' story is one the library proudly points to as evidence of how a library can transform lives and become a vital part of the community it serves.

"I feel safer and more comfortable," Alma Romero said in Spanish as Karen Vargas, a library assistant, translated. "As soon as I got my residency, I got my driver's license."

Alma Romero said now that they are legal residents, she and her family feel free to access every opportunity the U.S. has to offer.

Ramon Romero gained his citizenship in April after attending citizenship classes at the library and the El Mirage Elementary School, and checking out books to learn English and how to take the American citizenship test.

Through Ramon Romero's citizenship, Alma has become a permanent resident who must wait five years before becoming a U.S. citizen.

"Citizenship means everything," Alma Romero said. "It means a better life, better work and a better future."

They checked out their first book to learn English in 1991. Ramon Romero joined a citizenship class being held at the library. Alma Romero enrolled in an English class there.

Checking out the Ingles Sin Barreras (English Without Barriers) series and a citizenship video, Ramon and Alma Romero were able to study and learn English and about their adopted country.

Ramon Romero said using the books and the video made taking the test simple.

"It really did help because I would write it, I would hear it, and I would see it so when I saw it in the test as a question, the answer would come to me," Ramon Romero said.

Alma Romero said they practiced so much that their daughters would join in and learn the questions and answers. She said having their children participate helped motivate them.

Alondra Romero, 10, said she is proud of her parents.

"I'm really happy for them," Alondra said. "It must have been hard for them, but it is really helping them."

Though Ramon is a citizen and Alma is a legal resident, they still go to the library with their two daughters, Alondra and Marycarmen, 5, to keep learning English themselves and to teach Marycarmen English with a Hooked on Phonics kit at the library.

Both daughters were born in the U.S. and attend El Mirage Elementary School.

Ramon Romero said he was excited when they told him he had passed the citizenship exam.

"I want to vote and get a better job," he said.

He currently works as a landscaper.

Alma Romero is participating in a Arizona Department of Economic Security program that trains and offers financial assistance to low- and middle-income individuals who want to start a home child-care business and obtain state certification.

www.azcentral.com