A legal immigrant

Written by Eric Pulsifer
Friday, 29 June 2007

One man’s journey down the long road to citizenship

53-year-old Jesus Eguia has lived in Louisiana for more than 20 years. He’s a grandfather of six and has been happily married for more than 30 years.

Like many Americans, he has a strong opinion about the Immigration Reform bill that created strong criticism from both sides of the aisle. But unlike most people weighing in on the issue, Eguia wasn’t officially an American citizen until earlier this year. Coming to America

When he was nine years old, Eguia came to America with his mother, a Mexican-American citizen born in Corpus Christi. As a citizen, Eguia’s mother was able to bring her family to the states with her, and for the next 44 years Jesus Eguia would live in America legally as a permanent resident.

Several years ago, after being denied several jobs because of his status and being unable to voice his opinion at the polls in the country he lived in, Eguia decided to start on the path to American citizenship.

“I just felt the need of getting involved with the democratic process,â€