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  1. #1
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    The Sixx O'Clock News: Without borders

    Without borders

    http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/ne ... 328773.htm

    Former illegal immigrants settle in to success in the U.S.

    By Sarah Vos

    HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER


    As a 20-year-old, Luis Castillo left medical school in Mexico to come to Lexington, where he found work as a house painter. A year later, Minerva Castillo, a 19-year-old high school graduate, arrived and made money by cleaning houses.

    The Castillos crossed the border illegally. They didn't speak English, and they didn't have Social Security numbers or jobs. They didn't know what it would take to stay here.

    More than a decade later, Luis Castillo, 32, is an assistant restaurant manager at Rincon Mexicano on Euclid Avenue. He is trim from his daily runs, and jokes that his wife could have found a taller, more handsome husband.

    Minerva Castillo, 30, works for Patriot Tax International, managing an office on Alexandria Drive. She has curly black hair and an infectious smile, sells insurance and houses and prepares taxes.

    The Castillos own a house just outside New Circle Road, where they live with their three children: David, 11, Joshy, 5, and Ian, 11 months. They have a flat-screen TV the size of a desktop in the living room and a trampoline in the back yard. They-drive SUVs and go to the YMCA to swim and do water aerobics.

    Most important, they have green cards, the key to legal life for immigrants in the United States.

    The Castillos plan to return to Mexico only for vacations. Two of their three sons were born in the United States and are U.S. citizens, and Minerva and Luis plan to apply for citizenship for themselves and their oldest son as soon as they as they qualify.

    Lexington has become their home.

    "I always thank God that he helped us to make a smart decision, and he helped us come safe," said Minerva. "And I met all these nice people."

    The couple came to Lexington in the early 1990s, just before an influx of Hispanics, mainly Mexican, in the area. At that time, census workers counted 2,600 Hispanics living in Fayette County.

    Ten years later they tallied 8,600, although some community leaders think the number is probably closer to 24,000. In Kentucky, many Hispanics, especially those from Mexico, are here illegally and are wary of people, such as census workers, who ask questions about their lives.

    The Castillos represent the optimistic future of Hispanics in Kentucky, according to Marta Miranda, a professor of social work at Eastern Kentucky University. She has written about the Hispanic community in Lexington for a book titled New Destinations: Mexican Immigration in the United States.

    The pessimistic version -- hinted at by militias along the U.S.-Mexican border and barriers that prevent most illegal immigrants from getting green cards -- would mean deportations and an underclass of workers, Miranda said.

    "The majority of the immigrants, about 80 percent, are undocumented," said Miranda. "They don't have access to what the Castillos have."

    Recurring nightmares

    When Luis came to Lexington in 1993 to visit his brother, he planned to spend a few months and earn some money. But "the visit gets longer and longer," Luis said.

    From painting houses, Luis moved to a job as a dishwasher at Rincon. He became a busboy and then a server before moving up to assistant manager.

    When Minerva came, she paid someone to help her and David, then a toddler, across the border. Her parents, three sisters and a brother came at the same time but crossed legally. The U.S. Embassy in Guadalajara, in southwestern Mexico, gave them tourist visas.

    Minerva was older than 18, and the officer at the embassy denied her application. She wasn't in school and didn't have a job -- both reasons to go back to Mexico. You look like someone who's going to stay over there, he told her.

    After cleaning houses for a while, she took a job at Rincon. Her customers taught her English, one word at a time.

    Today, she says, she still thinks in Spanish and then translates into English -- quickly enough that the delay is unnoticeable.

    Even as the Castillos adjusted to life in Lexington, their work options were limited because they didn't have green cards or Social Security numbers. Minerva went to get a driver's license in Michigan, where a Social Security number isn't required as part of the application.

    Luis couldn't visit his mother, who lives in Michoacan, near the Sierra Madre mountains, even if she was sick.

    But worst of all was the fear.

    "When you don't have any papers, you're always afraid of what would happen," Luis said.

    He had recurring nightmares. In one, he went to Mexico, and the border patrol caught him. In another, agents came to Rincon while he was there.

    The fear was always the same: What would happen to his family?

    In 1999, the owner of Rincon, Jorge Salas, offered to sponsor the Castillos for green cards.

    For those who come to the United States illegally, obtaining legal status is difficult. But the program Salas had learned about, called 245i, allowed those who had entered the country illegally to pay a $1,000 fine and then apply for green cards.

    Salas, who died in a traffic accident in Cuba in 2003, came to the United States from Mexico illegally. He worked in Florida first, on farms, and became legal as part of a general amnesty in the late 1980s, said his sister, Veronica Salas-Budar.

    "He knew how important it is to be legal in this country," Salas-Budar said.

    The Castillos stayed up late talking about the proposition. It would be expensive -- $3,000 in fines for them and David, in addition to lawyer fees that would total $9,000.

    "We almost didn't want to do it" because of the cost, Minerva said.

    Salas, who sponsored other employees as well, told the Castillos to start saving.

    By the end of 2002, they had work permits and temporary Social Security numbers. In October 2004, they got their green cards. They celebrated with a party at Rincon and a green cake.

    Even before their applications were approved, the temporary Social Security numbers allowed them to buy a house. Work papers allowed Minerva Castillo to apply for a job at Patriot International.

    In April 2001, 245i expired. Without that program, it is much harder for a family like the Castillos to get green cards. They would have to return to Mexico and apply at a U.S. consulate there.

    But if they had entered the country illegally and stayed for more than 6 months, or worked here illegally for more than six months, they would be barred from returning to the United States for three years.

    If they had been here for more than a year, as the Castillos were, they would be barred from returning for 10 years.

    Vicariously shopping

    Kids and adults crowd around the kitchen table at the house of Maria and Ensergio Regoverto Rios in Versailles. It's the weekly Sunday dinner that Minerva's parents host, a tradition that began before the family left Mexico.

    There are siblings, nieces, nephews, children, an aunt, cousins and in-laws -- 20, altogether -- in a three-bedroom condo. They take turns at the table, eating their fill of chicken soup and spicy pork sandwiches made with ripe tomatoes and sour cream.

    After everyone has eaten, the women squeeze even more chairs around the table, so they can look at fliers from the Sunday paper. They pass the advertisements and talk about who should buy what.

    But no one goes shopping afterward. They can't always afford to, and they just like to look. "We like to see what's new," Minerva Castillo said.

    They switch from Spanish to English and back. Maria Rios speaks almost exclusively in Spanish. Her two youngest daughters, Elvira, 18, and Roxana, 16, talk to each other in English. Others, like Minerva, mix Spanish and English.

    "Quieres ice cream? (Do you want ice cream?)" she asked Joshy.

    At home, Minerva and Luis speak Spanish, and the children are supposed to. But David is more comfortable speaking English.

    "They're kind of lazy now, because you learn to think in English," Minerva said. "Only if they know they have to speak Spanish will they."

    In June, the family went to Mexico for three weeks. It was the first time Luis's mother had seen her grandchildren. Now, David wants to have his first Communion in Mexico.

    Few family days

    On a recent Tuesday morning, Minerva put Ian on the couch and sleepily pulled her hair into a ponytail. The night before, the baby woke up at 2. An hour or so later, a nightmare woke Joshy.

    Minerva's eyes were puffy with fatigue, but she teased David as he sat on the couch, fighting sleep, even though it was after 8:30.

    The Castillos live in a three-bedroom house off Leestown Road in a new subdivision of drab-colored houses with garages that jut out to the street.

    When their house was being built, they wanted it to have the reddest brick possible. "We Mexicans like colorful houses," Minerva explained.

    They chose subdued beige siding and brown brick after a friend told them that red could hurt the resale value.

    As Minerva fed Ian breakfast and David got his own, Luis headed out for a quick run.

    Four days a week, Minerva works at Patriot International, doing taxes and selling insurance. Almost all of her clients speak Spanish.

    Two weeks ago, she got her real estate license. Some banks have started offering mortgages to people who don't have Social Security numbers, and her customers want to buy houses.

    She makes $12 an hour and gets health insurance for her family. She used to work full-time, but the cost of day care for Ian and Joshy took all but $30 of her paycheck.

    Now she works from 9 to 2, when Luis drops the children off at her office on his way to Rincon.

    By the time he returns home, around midnight, everyone is in bed.

    Mondays, the only day when neither Luis nor Minerva works, are family days. Otherwise, the parents see each other for moments here and there, taking turns caring for the children and doing housework.

    They stretch the income from both jobs -- $32,000 last year, according to their tax returns -- to pay their bills.

    They want to learn English well enough to go to back to school and pursue degrees. Luis has thought about becoming a nurse, since he once dreamed of being a doctor. But that will have to wait until Ian is older, he said.

    For now, they are glad to be legal, to have the freedom to look for work where they want and to visit their families in Mexico. Minerva says she is happy and grateful.

    "It's been a good year," she said, as she held Ian, a chubby toddler with big brown eyes. "Because we got a green card, we bought a house, and we got this baby."
    FAR BEYOND DRIVEN

  2. #2
    Senior Member Mamie's Avatar
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    Two weeks ago, she got her real estate license. Some banks have started offering mortgages to people who don't have Social Security numbers, and her customers want to buy houses.
    can't you just see the collapse of the banking system ...

    what gets me is these "illegals" flaunt themselves in the face of the law and it does nothing
    "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it" George Santayana "Deo Vindice"

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mamie
    Two weeks ago, she got her real estate license. Some banks have started offering mortgages to people who don't have Social Security numbers, and her customers want to buy houses.
    can't you just see the collapse of the banking system ...

    what gets me is these "illegals" flaunt themselves in the face of the law and it does nothing
    Not only the banking system, but the entire system of America. Capitalism. Demoncracy. Our whole lives, including McDonalds, is up for grabs. WAKE UP OR DIE
    FAR BEYOND DRIVEN

  4. #4
    Senior Member jp_48504's Avatar
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    Two weeks ago, she got her real estate license. Some banks have started offering mortgages to people who don't have Social Security numbers, and her customers want to buy houses.
    This from one bank

    Attention New Account Openers --USA Patriot Act Anti-Terrorism Requirements

    To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, the USA Patriot Act requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens a loan account. As part of the loan account application process, we are asking for your name, address, date of birth, Social Security or Tax ID Number, and other information that will allow us to identify you. We may also ask you to provide your driver’s license or other identifying documents at closing or by other means to verify your identity. Your refusal to provide the requested USA Patriot Act information will result in our inability to honor your request to establish your loan account or pre-qualify you for a loan. In addition to these USA Patriot Act requirements, we will request your credit history from a credit bureau as part of processing your loan, which will assist us in verifying your identity. Thank you for your cooperation.
    http://www.chevychasebank.com/htm/hle_terms.html
    Read this funny.
    http://www.sec.gov/rules/proposed/s72502/wblangley1.htm

    Can anyone tell me how it is that the banks want everything but my first born to identify me and an illegal can show up with a fake green card and open an account, get a mortgage and so on?
    I stay current on Americans for Legal Immigration PAC's fight to Secure Our Border and Send Illegals Home via E-mail Alerts (CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP)

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by jp_48504
    Two weeks ago, she got her real estate license. Some banks have started offering mortgages to people who don't have Social Security numbers, and her customers want to buy houses.
    This from one bank

    [quote:27ip8oqd]Attention New Account Openers --USA Patriot Act Anti-Terrorism Requirements

    To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, the USA Patriot Act requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens a loan account. As part of the loan account application process, we are asking for your name, address, date of birth, Social Security or Tax ID Number, and other information that will allow us to identify you. We may also ask you to provide your driver’s license or other identifying documents at closing or by other means to verify your identity. Your refusal to provide the requested USA Patriot Act information will result in our inability to honor your request to establish your loan account or pre-qualify you for a loan. In addition to these USA Patriot Act requirements, we will request your credit history from a credit bureau as part of processing your loan, which will assist us in verifying your identity. Thank you for your cooperation.
    http://www.chevychasebank.com/htm/hle_terms.html
    Read this funny.
    http://www.sec.gov/rules/proposed/s72502/wblangley1.htm

    Can anyone tell me how it is that the banks want everything but my first born to identify me and an illegal can show up with a fake green card and open an account, get a mortgage and so on?[/quote:27ip8oqd]

    I sure can't tell you. I have seen it happen too.
    FAR BEYOND DRIVEN

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