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Illegal immigrant details long, dangerous journey to America
Illegal immigrant details long, dangerous journey to America
By BECKY W. EVANS, Standard-Times staff writer

Alex's six-month journey to New Bedford began in El Salvador in 2000.
He was 20 years old and could not support his large family with an average wage of $3 per day. Still reeling from a 12-year civil war, El Salvador was racked with poverty and violence.
Alex's parents decided it was time to send their oldest son to the United States.
The family "was all crying" when he left their San Salvador home one day at 4 a.m., Alex told a reporter through an interpreter. He declined to give his full name out of fear that he might be arrested by immigration police.
After leaving his family, Alex rode a bus through Guatemala and Belize with others in search of a better life.
"We were going after the dream of coming to the United States and making money," he said.
While in Belize, they were forced to hide in a truck for nine hours. "Some people died because they couldn't breathe," he said.
From Belize, Alex and his companions traveled by boat to Mexico. Then for 20 days, they rode in the trunks of cars — three people per trunk — from one Mexican city to another.
They hid from the Mexican police, since they could not afford to pay the bribes needed for release if they were caught, he said.
The final leg of the trip required a difficult hike over the mountains that separate Mexico from California.
At the border, Alex paid a guide about $375 to help him cross into the United States.
The guides are called polleros, which means "chicken herders" in Spanish. Two polleros lead a line of people across the border. One stands at the front of the line and the other at the back. The guide in the back covers their footsteps to prevent immigration police from tracking them.
Alex attempted to cross the border five times before he was successful.
On each occasion, he was caught by U.S. immigration officials and taken to a border station for questioning. Having perfected a Mexican accent, Alex told them he was from Mexico so that he would not be sent back to El Salvador. Instead, they sent him to a Mexican city on the other side of the mountains, where he would begin the trip again.
The mountains were cold and on one occasion, Alex was robbed of his clothes and money. He also recalled being treated like animals by U.S. immigration police, who called the immigrants "sissies" and charged at them with their horses.
"I suffered much to come to the United States," he said.
Before each crossing, Alex scraped his fingertips so police records would not show his same fingerprints. He feared he would be jailed if police caught him trying to cross the border more than once.
The polleros had warned him not to give his name to police if he was caught.
On his sixth try, Alex successfully crossed the border. The polleros gave him a little food and water to sustain him during the three-day walk to the nearest U.S. town. When he and his companions finally arrived at the town, they were exhausted, Alex said.
Some Samaritans gave them a plate of food and they "ate like dogs," he said.
After he recovered, Alex traveled by bus from California to New Bedford, where some of his friends lived.
He spent his first four days in New Bedford searching for a job. He was finally hired to clean fish machinery at $6 per hour.
Alex slowly built a life for himself in New Bedford.
When he could, he sent money to his family in El Salvador.
Three years ago, Alex's brother, Raul, left El Salvador for New Bedford.
Raul paid $7,000 for a "coyote," or guide, who accompanied him on his entire journey. Alex's wages paid part of the expense, with the rest coming from a lien that his mother placed on her house in San Salvador.
Two years ago, Alex married Jamileta, a Salvadorean who also lived in New Bedford. Seven months ago, Jamileta gave birth to a daughter.
Growing into adulthood in New Bedford has changed Alex's relationship with the United States.
"I have found that this country is part of me," he said.
Alex now works installing insulation in people's homes. He still sends money to his family in El Salvador, which continues to be plagued by poverty and violence.
Last week, his New Bedford family was separated when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided the textile and leather factory where Jamileta worked in the city's South End.
She and more than 300 illegal workers, who made military equipment for U.S. troops, were arrested and detained at Fort Devens.
While Jamileta was detained, her daughter grew sick with a fever. Alex took the baby to the hospital. The pediatrician contacted federal agents at Fort Devens and helped persuade them to release Jamileta because of her daughter's illness.
Jamileta returned on Thursday to New Bedford, where she was reunited with her husband and daughter.
Meanwhile, about 200 of her co-workers were flown to detention centers in Texas. Fewer than 100 of the detainees are being held at Massachusetts facilities.
Jamileta faces a deportation hearing later this month, but Alex cannot afford to hire a lawyer to help his wife. Instead, he and his daughter will represent her, he said.
"We are human," he said. "We have the right to happiness."
The United States "is not mine, but I feel I have the right to be here," he said.
He urged other immigrants to fight to stay in the United States: "I'm saying from my heart to be strong.
"There is a God in the sky that is looking out for us."
Becky W. Evans can be reached
at revans@s-t.com

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