The Struggles of a Mexican Immigrant Family in San Angelo

 

Maria Guerrero looked around her home on West Avenue R in San Angelo, pride shining in her eyes as she noted all the changes she and her husband Javier have made over the past 18 years. Nearby, her American-born daughter, Brianna, sat patiently, and her one-year-old granddaughter, Isabella, played with whatever she could get her hands on as Maria began to describe the journey that forever changed her life and that of her family.

Maria wanted to share her story because she feels people in the U.S. think poorly of Mexican immigrants, especially after the media coverage of the remarks made by Donald Trump recently.

[[{"fid":"14024","view_mode":"preview","type":"media","attributes":{"alt":"Eybeth Guerrero is an E4 Specialist Operations Clerk in the U.S. Army. (Contributed Photo\\Maria Guerrero)","title":"Eybeth Guerrero is an E4 Specialist Operations Clerk in the U.S. Army. (Contributed Photo\\Maria Guerrero)","height":"604","width":"640","style":"width: 30%; float: left; margin: 0px 20px 20px 0px;","class":"media-element file-preview imgbody"}}]]“In the U.S., people think Mexicans are bad, but we’re not,” she said. “It's the bad groups that give us bad names.” (Left: Daughter Eybeth Guerrero is an E4 Specialist Operations Clerk in the U.S. Army. (Contributed Photo/Maria Guerrero)

The bad groups referenced are those she called the “narcos,” or drug dealers. However, she said the majority of the people who cross over the border have stories like hers.

"I want to demonstrate that not all Mexicans are here to harm others or live off the government," Maria said.

If anything, Mrs. Guerrero wanted people to understand why Mexicans leave all they know to start a new life in a country that condemns them. 

Because of Mexico’s outdated social class system, Maria said there are only two classes: the rich and the poor. This system is referred to as the patrón and peón system. In this system, the patrón controls everything, and the peón works for little to nothing so those people in control can maintain their power. Peóns have to work fast, and they receive no benefits, breaks, vacations, or even work parties. Today, they also make less than $50 a week.

"The patrón can treat workers very poorly and they can't do anything about it," she said. "Not like here."

Additionally, the peón can never move up or better him or herself, Maria said. To get a semi-decent job, people need a high school diploma and/or a college degree. However, Mexicans have access to free education only through middle school. After that, parents must pay $200 U.S. a semester for each child to attend high school.

That’s not a possibility for the peón class, especially on a salary of less than $50 a week.

“That’s why a lot of kids 14 and 15 start to cross; they have no other options,” Maria said.

She also said Mexico’s poor only have three choices: live in extreme poverty and not care about education at all, join the narcos, or find a way to cross the border into the U.S.

“In Mexico, people make little money, and they live a really bad life,” Maria said. “Americans shouldn’t blame the people who come here. It’s because of the government. They don’t change anything.”

Maria said her family would never have left their country if they had the opportunities Americans enjoy.

Life in Mexico

Prior to coming to the United States, Maria and her husband Javier grew up and lived in Guanajuato, Mexico. They married in 1990. At that time, Javier worked at a mushroom factory. He made $20 (U.S. currency) a week. Not to mention, the couple lived in a small, two-bedroom home with an outhouse. That wasn’t enough for a couple starting their lives together.

"Money was bad, so my husband went to work in Indio, California. He already had a work visa. We were married only 7 months," Maria said.

Javier worked 12 hours a day in the sun with few breaks picking grapes. He had no benefits, but he managed to send the family $100 every two weeks. That pay helped, but it wasn’t enough, especially after the couple started having children.

“It was very hard because we couldn’t buy anything but tortillas, soup, beans, potatoes and chiles,” Maria Guerrero said.

Additionally, she said they had to pay the doctors $500 each for the birth of their two kids. Javier had to get loans in the U.S. from people he knew to pay the debts.

As a stay-at-home mom, Maria stressed. She said in Mexico, women have it worse. Many of the young girls will sell themselves in some way for extra money; they will sleep with the patrón if it benefits their family. Additionally, many of the mothers in Maria's town didn't care if their kids went to school or not because they knew it didn't matter.

Maria said she didn't want to become one of these mothers.

"When my husband told me he wanted us to move with him to Texas, I said yes," Maria remembered. "I wanted more for my children." 

Javier worked with a middle-aged American who happened to be a coyote or “mafia” (the term used by Mexicans for immigrant smugglers). The man told him he could get visas for Javier’s wife and two children. The cost would be $3,000 and they would have to come up with $1,500 in advance. Although that was a lot of money, the couple knew they had no other choice. Javier was making $200 per week, so there was no way he would be going back to Mexico. He wanted his family with him.

Crossing The Border

In February of 1995, late at night on a Saturday, Maria and her two children made their way across the U.S.-Mexico border.

Guanajuato is 1,109 km, or approximately 12 hours away from Ciudad Acuña, a border town across from Del Rio, Texas. When they got to the border earlier in the evening, Maria learned the coyote only had a visa for her but not her children.

"I was upset because I thought we were all going to pass legally," she said.

Because they had saved up the money and made the harrowing trip, Maria knew she couldn’t go back; therefore, she had no choice but to go with Javier through the U.S. Border Patrol and allow the coyote and his wife, complete strangers, to take her daughter, Eybeth, who was 3, and son, Javier Jr., 8 months, across the border. She didn’t see them until a few hours later.

“I was so scared,” Maria said. "My husband knew the people, but I didn't."

Life in a New Country

[[{"fid":"14025","view_mode":"preview","type":"media","attributes":{"alt":"Javier Guerrero owns his own remodeling business. (Contributed Photo\\Maria Guerrero)","title":"Javier Guerrero owns his own remodeling business. (Contributed Photo\\Maria Guerrero)","height":"960","width":"720","style":"width: 30%; margin: 0px 20px 20px 0px; float: left;","class":"media-element file-preview imgbody"}}]]After the crossover, life became more challenging. When the family made it to San Angelo, Maria learned she would have to live with her brother, sister-in-law and their two children in a very small rental house. (Left: Today, Javier Guerrero owns his own remodeling business. (Contributed Photo/Maria Guerrero))

"Our house in Mexico was small, but we had everything," she said. "We had beds. Here we didn't have anything: no beds, dressers, or anything, and we had to share one room."

Maria also wasn’t comfortable with her kids not having their documentation. The Guerreros heard of a lawyer who could help them get their kids’ visas, but he turned out to be a con artist and walked away with $1,800. If that wasn’t bad enough, the coyote who brought them over started harassing them continuously for the remaining $1,500.

Maria said she cried a lot the first two years.

“I thought because I was here, things would be better, but they weren’t,” she said.

Little did the Guerreros know that the tornado of 1995, which was a record setting day in San Angelo history, would change the couple’s life.

In 1997, two years after Maria and her kids made the cross into the U.S., the family bought their first house.

"Javier saw the house. The roof was damaged, but he liked the area, so he called the [owner] and made an offer," Maria said. 

The Guerreros bought their home for $24,000. They didn't care about the damage because they knew Javier could fix it. 

"We felt like it was a new toy,” Maria said. "We finally had our privacy."

From there, their lives began to improve.

Maria and Javier had their American-born daughter, Brianna, and their kids were finally going to start school in the U.S. Maria, who didn’t know how to drive, took driver's education and got her Texas driver's license so she could transport the kids to school. Additionally, although they had to save up money again, they found a legit representative and got Eybeth and Javier’s residency.

Because the couple had their legal residency, they paid their taxes and received tax refunds. They used those funds to pay off their house faster. Maria also got her first job with GCS Services, a janitorial company that contracts with Angelo State University.

"I only made minimum wage, but I did get vacations and time off," Maria said. She also said management treated her well. These luxuries were a new concept for her.

By this time, Javier’s brother started his own business, Guerrero and Sons Roofing, so Javier went to work with him and made $700 to $800 per week, a big improvement from where he started.

Two years into her job, management decided Maria was supervisory material. She didn’t speak English well, so she was a bit nervous about the position. However, the young woman’s bosses felt her a good candidate because she never complained about her work, never called in, worked through her breaks, and university faculty and staff complimented her work.

Not everyone thought she deserved the position.

"The people I worked with, especially the Mexican Americans, were mad because I'm Mexican and didn't speak English well," she said. 

That didn’t stop management from making her a supervisor, however. In fact, they offered Maria a manager's position, but she would have had to leave for training in Phoenix. Maria didn’t want to be away from her family, so she stuck with the supervisor position.

Maria went from making minimum wage to $10 an hour by the time she left work at ASU. She transferred to the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts because staff there needed a dependable custodial worker. GCS management chose Maria for the position because of her work ethic. Now, after 13 years with GCS, and as a supervisor, Maria makes $13 per hour, has benefits, vacation, sick pay, and she loves the people at the museum.

“They are all so nice,” she said.

Javier also moved up the ranks and started his own business in 2005. He paints and remodels homes.

This upward mobility, along with seeing the wonderful accomplishments of their three children, is why the Guerreros have no regrets coming to the U.S.

A New Generation of Opportunities

Today, the Guerreros' oldest daughter, Eybeth, is an E4 Specialist Operations Clerk in the U.S. Army. In May 2015, she took classes to be a sergeant and wants to enlist for another four years. She also got her U.S. citizenship in May of 2015. Eybeth is mother to little Isabella.

"We are so proud of our Eybeth," the Guerreros said. 

As for Javier Jr., he started working in the oil field after he graduated from Central High School and is now a supervisor at 21. He got engaged to be married in December 2015, and recently bought his first home.

Brianna, the Guerreros' American-born daughter, lives the fun life of a San Angelo teen. She attends Central High School and plays basketball, runs track, cheers for the cheerleading squad, plays volleyball and hopes to join the Texanns this upcoming school year. She will also be celebrating her quinceañera in August.

“None of this would have been possible in Mexico,” Maria said. “We would ever have had any of these opportunities.”

Maria also said she too hopes to become a U.S. citizen because she knows her family will never return to Mexico. Her father, sisters, and brothers all came to the U.S. legally, and they, too, have found a good life here in San Angelo and in Dallas.

Finally, the damaged home they bought in 1997, which was a two-bedroom, one-bath small home, is now a four-bedroom, two-bath home thanks to Javier’s remodeling capabilities. The house with all the new upgrades looks somewhat out of place on West Avenue R with its hacienda style gates and large Texas star emblems.

The Guerreros said they can’t imagine being anywhere else.

“We’re content because we got what we came here for,” Maria said. “Everything is exactly what I imagined. I’m so happy, especially for my children.”

 

Subscribe to the LIVE! Daily

The LIVE! Daily is the "newspaper to your email" for San Angelo. Each content-packed edition has weather, the popular Top of the Email opinion and rumor mill column, news around the state of Texas, news around west Texas, the latest news stories from San Angelo LIVE!, events, and the most recent obituaries. The bottom of the email contains the most recent rants and comments. The LIVE! daily is emailed 5 days per week. On Sundays, subscribers receive the West Texas Real Estate LIVE! email.

Required

Most Recent Videos

Comments

..came legally. They had to send the 2 kids ilegal but got everything legal as soon as they could. that is the difference in them and most of the ones coming over illegally. I applaud their hard work.

i was born and raised in the US but my father was born in mexico along with the rest of my aunts, uncles and grandparents plus my great grandparents. i know how hard it was for my familia...The Zapata Familia....to come to the United States for a better life. my dad and 2 of my uncles were in the army and fought in the Vietnam War. my youngest uncle was in the Navy and lost his life while serving this country along the Diego Garcia Islands. I applaud this family for attempting to give their family a better life in our United States because just like they said...."Not all mexicans are bad?" i have much respect for them in their continuous fight to raise their children in a much better place than mexico. if people wana judge them on how they arrived in the US, then shame on yall. unlike others....this family made sure they became legal once they arrived and have been doing good since arriving. people need to stop judging and just be happy that they have been doing great things since arriving. cudos to them.

i also wana say thank you so much for being a part of our United States Military Eybeth. your services are much appreciated. God Bless you and your wonderful family.

Fedup, Tue, 07/28/2015 - 15:02

Shame on us? For not being happy about someone breaking our laws? Seriously? Also, everyone who wants to argue for ILLEGAL ALIENS (yes that is what they are, not an immigrant) say they only take jobs American's dont want. This article clearly stated she took a supervisory position that several Americans wanted, and it was given to her even though she could barely speak english. and no, maria is still illegal. If this increadably biased article is to be believed. I dont fault them wanting a better life for their kids. But breaking into my house and sitting down for dinner at the table dosent make you family, anymore than coming over illegally makes you an American. Do it legally (like every other member of your family managed to do) and I would have absolutly no problem with you. Because then you are an American, and my brother or sister. Until then....smh

If only we could take the outrage some feel about illegal aliens and convey it to our federal government, maybe politicians would start taking illegal immigration more seriously. Don't blame the immigrant for wanting a better life, it's only human nature to desire it. The illegal immigrant isn't the problem, their over abundant presence is only the symptom. The real cancer in all this is our own government which refuses to punish American employers who hire illegal aliens and a government which refuses to secure the border appropriately. Fix that cancer and the symptom will slowly begin to disappear.

few people realize Mexico was a failed state long before certain cartels began employing terroristic and geurilla-type warfare tactics. Failed social, trade and economic Mexican policy, coupled with u.s. drug policy exacerbated and ensured the demise of the mexican middle class. Rampant government corruption at all levels was there before that, but grew and spread exponentially, as fertile ground to do so was sown from seeds above. Bureaucratic watchdogs hungry for cash, i.e. police, extra border patrol, university programs offering border security degrees, i.e. anything that can morph into the latest service to cash in on the new fear factor, walls, border drones, militiamen, etc. are simply a waste of time and money, and only supports said entities own survival in times of budget cuts and tea party lines. Two ways to fix this problem: either support the growth of Mexican middle class and decrease u.s. drug demand via better trade policy and redirection of billions used to fight a never ending drug war, which can also be used for social rehab and educational programs in the U.S., or this: http://www.vox.com/2015/7/29/9048401/bernie-sanders-open-borders or, a combination of both. As for the military--they can transfer all the hardware used to fight the southern crimewave amd deploy it in the arctic to protect the next subpermafrost oil basin...................

One would think that Mexico has enough in natural resources to not be a third world country. However, it all goes back to the government that runs the country. Since those who make up the government belong to a rich elitist class, they simply do not care about the less fortunate, thus they do not see any reason to alleviate poverty. So most of their programs benefit their own kind and not the whole population. Labor is also very cheap in this country, so when the people have low spending power, this also affects the economy by bringing it down. The lack of education also further degrades the ability and skills of the people and the drug war presents a clear danger which hardworking Mexicans do not want to be associated with. So, what is the answer for them? a United States government ready to embrace their political usage.

your comment sounds eerily familiar, hmmm....maybe it resembles the high wealth gap we have, tax codes-finance-banking, etc. full of loopholes, race to the bottom as far as wages, massive cuts in social spending, middle class eroding faster and faster. Are you sure you are talking about Mexico? Sure does sound like the plutacrocy we live in right now.

Opposing immigration, especially illegal immigration, is not consonant with undermining the middle class and promulgating inequality. Supporting it is. As hard as it is to face, immigration is part of a larger picture that means the end of America as we've known it - literally, the end of the world as we've known it. We cannot be too sensationalistic when the avenues of opportunity narrow and the echoes of Liberty are growing farther away...

As Americans, the idea of socio-economic castes should be intolerable to us. We should not bend to the way of Latin American inequality or allow our raw dynamism and moxie to be buried like embers in the ashes of stifling New World varna. The fire of freedom is ours, and we must protect it. Even if that means tough love.

Not ready to call America a plutocracy just yet. As a republic, we have the privilege to vote for the right candidate. I feel our nation is torn at the seams, at least, by voter apathy. However, the problem arises "what if no candidate" can live up to the campaign hype they claim. With the immigration issue, it is not just politicians being lackadaisical, it is also groups or organizations which need the Hispanic support to further their agenda as well.

it is indeed a plutocracy, and was set on such a path 35 years ago. This country has been bought and sold since then. Why do you think we can't get out of this recession, while other western countries have? Immigration will be "fixed" once the demographic changes and bares it's full brunt. Why do you think the horses to start watching are hispanic? Place your bets, because that's where the money is.................You can vote for who you want to.....but big money always wins in a hyper capitalistic atmosphere supported by a supreme court that caters to big business.

I think people in our society should stop blaming the immigrants for coming illegaly when the ones that will be ILLEGALS is the Americans the united Statesfirst belonged to the indians. Also instead of saying that the immigrants stealing ur jobs why don't u get off the chair u sit in and he to work and try to do the jobs Mexicans do to see if you last doing it. I congratulate the Guerrero family for all the success they have made since they arrived in the US. Thank you eybeth for ur service in the military.

People like you are what made this country great. Thank you for your hard work and contributions. As for the citizenship, continue to work at it, your doing more than most, even those who claim Ellis Island as an entry point, but never completed citizenship requirements.

We need to have the laws enforced that are already on the books and build a wall etc., just as the people in Mexico need to change their situation in their own country. I guess it is easier to come to ours and have a voice than to stay in your own and change it. Mexico has resources to be as successful as the US but it takes action by the people.

"Not everyone thought she deserved the position. 'The people I worked with, especially the Mexican Americans, were mad because I'm Mexican and didn't speak English well,' she said. That didn’t stop management from making her a supervisor, however. In fact, they offered Maria a manager's position, but she would have had to leave for training in Phoenix. Maria didn’t want to be away from her family, so she stuck with the supervisor position."

https://youtu.be/81BTRvzHJuI

few people realize that Mexico, far before certain cartels began employing terroristic tactics and guerilla warfare was already, technically speaking, a failed state. Seasoned, entrenched corruption, flawed trade, economic and socioeconomic Mexican policy, was exacerbated by American Drug War policy. Both wasted billions in resources over time and never achieved goals set forth. The only thing accomplished was the destruction of the middle class. We might see illegal crossings and the violence diminish in a generation--but only if the policies above cease to exist, and such funds are reallocated to keep Mexican citizens at home working to rebuild their own mc. Likewise, increased U.S. drug demand will have to be addressed via more social programs aimed at drug rehab and job training, instead of employing the military into a never ending drug war. Send the great bureaucracy the military has become to the next stop on the ghost chasing/money pit tour: the arctic...........the next oil frontier has to be protected as the ice melts faster ans faster.....

I don't know how people can say they were legal. The husband was on a work visa so that was legal but the wife came on an illegally procured visa from a "coyote" and the 2 older children were transported illegally by the "coyote and his wife".
I can't help but wonder when I meet someone Hispanic whether they are American Citizens or illegal aliens and this is not fair to the American Citizens which is why they share the belief that everyone should go through the legal immigration process.

serenity, you wonder if a Hispanic is legal or not legal when you meet one? Your view on humanity is distorted if that is something you first think about when meeting someone. I will agree with you that one should obey the law, however, when you are in a dire situation, is not your human instinct to get out of that crisis? Now, please understand, I am not talking about foreigners who come here only to be criminals. I speak of people like the family this story is about. Your disgust or intolerance is targeted at the wrong people, your disgust should be with our government which allows people to come over nearly without challenge. It is the fault of both republicans and democrats that Americans continue to employ illegal aliens, and with either party and the employers who continue to employ illegals is who you should be disgusted with. To look down on a man who comes to work hard in order to provide for his family is on your part; nauseating!

I concur, but only up until the part of the "employer's fault. If we are to act humane, then prosepective employers who rise to the occassion to position themselves within a just, civil society to play their part commit no "moral fault of their own", when providing fair means to those in distress, i.e. "illegal aliens". Legal is another issue, but I would think since we are a God-fearing nation--we turn a "blind eye" at the border:) Regardless, do the "illegal alien criminals" actively seek and keep work like the good people above, or are they on the fringes of society selling drugs, raping, murdering, etc? What if an "illegal alien" came here like one of the above in order to support his family, etc. but was discriminated against and turned down by man employers, and then out of desperation--became an "illegal criminal"? This happens all the time to "legal U.S. citizens" everyday---there's record numbers of them incarcerated to prove it.

How else can we curb illegal immigration unless we hold responsible the people enabling them to come here? People may turn a "blind eye" out of piety and compassion, but there is a point when too much compassion threatens our own safety and livelihood. What good does it do us to take in those who Mexico's racist elites have deemed to not be worth their time and efforts, only to have them bring their problems with them? It would be better if we cut off these thoroughly subjugated, soul crushed scabs, these strikebreakers in the struggle against our own rising Plutocrats and forced them to strangle their own oppressors at home.

There is nothing "God-fearing" about the people who use illegals, who live outside of the protection of the law, for their own purposes. The desire of those who use illegals is to undermine their fellow citizens - goodness, society, and the law be damned.

The religious card was played to highlight our position as the most hypocritical nation on earth, as it relates to our own policies and our claims to be a Christian nation--too long to list here. As you can see, a smiley face was added to the end. Regardless, what should be done to illegals fleeing such abuse, or worse, that seek asylum inside a church our side of the border?

Late response:

Your intention was difficult to ascertain as you did not use the correct punctuation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irony_punctuation) You can harp all you want on the supposedly innumerable hypocrisies of Christian America, but, at the very least they do mean well. Less could be said of other nations who are quick to self-promote themselves as being "more enlightened" - such as India - while their lower classes live in squalid and inescapable poverty and are taught that their very souls are of lesser caliber than those of more fortunate birth. If fingers are to be pointed in any direction to locate insufferable hypocrisies, point them in the direction of gurus wearing rhinestone glasses like Deepak Chopra.

Mexico is a nation that was fractured and then united - like a broken bone - by the coming of the European. It is a place of mythical proportions, tremendous suffering, and deep pride. For the most part, the point that may become missed in the march of social progress is the deep respect for humanity eventually developed by the sea born invaders in their march to become better and wiser. Too many take the self abasement of the haughty Christian or descendant of the European diaspora as weakness. It isn't. Christ compelled them to unite the world - and they did: for better or worse, painfully and imperfectly. And we are here.

But America, despite the many violent mistakes it has made, (as often for survival as due to any vice, and must honestly confess to,) has been driven by a noble spirit and a dream to unite and elevate humanity. Were we to look at immigration policies in nations like China, Canada, or even Mexico, we would find that they are not so lenient as the United States. The Christians of the United States have endeavored to open their hearts to all of humanity. Even if we do not agree with that faith, we cannot ignore that kindness, and we have the right to demand of those who come that they treasure this nation as their only home or even to turn them away if need be.

Or, you know, we could just invade Mexico. State #51 - majority of all immigration problems solved.

Trump 2016

swami, to respond to your question about what if the well intended illegal immigrant was discriminated against by an employer because the employer would not hire them due to fear of punishment by our government. Word would get back to the well intentioned in Mexico and they would not make the journey north for there would be no reason for them to come if employment was non-existent.

you misunderstood my point. I meant illegals discriminated against because of their "skin color", then turns to crime to survive--much like legals who have skin color other than white, but then ultimately turn to crime, and are incarcerated at higher rates than whites. The only word getting back to Mexico is to keep sending drugs, because U.S. citizens usage continues to climb year after year, despite drug wars. BTW: ever since we opened the afghan can of worms, poppy production has steadily increased. Seriously, it'll take a genration or two to fix Mexico, but that's only if the right policies are put into place now, by both sides, to grow another middle class on both sides. But, there's a party that usually winds up on the wrong side of history time and time again. They'll make sure of it again--and you'll get a wall and increased budgets for local, county, state, border security, and universites offering various security border degrees that aren#t worth the paper they are printed on, i.e. keep milking the cash cow, pork barrel politics. It would make too much sense to reformulate macroeconomic and trade policy to secure our border. Bureaucracies would not be able to survive............

Best way to get rid of the ignoble caste system, right? Maybe the spirit of B. R. Ambedkar and all of the Dalits would finally have their peace...

Post a comment to this article here: