a rainbow’s dream. I hoped that
they would make it into America
for a better life. But the tunnel took
on too much water and the five
people died. In the morning the
police recovered five bodies. News
reporters talked about what had
happened to the five people all to
get a better life.
When I think about the
things I observed living so close to
the American border, I feel very bad.
I do not understand why there is a
border which keeps people away
from freedom and a better life in
America. Mexican people want a
future for their sons and daughters.
How many people will have to
die to get the rights that so many
immigrants have wanted since
America became a country? When
will our two countries change the
laws?
MEXICO
PASSPORT
L
Name: Alejandra
Age: 13
Country of Origin: Mexico
Reason for Leaving: Poverty & Violence
Resettlement to U.S.: 2005
iving in Tijuana had both happy
times and very sad times. My
happiest memories of living in
Tijuana were when I used to be able
to play hopscotch in the mountains
near the border. The police used
to give us money to leave the
area. We used to use the money
to buy candy! This area was a great
play area. However, this area also
brought my saddest memories.
When I was eleven or
twelve years I was living very close
to the border. My house was right
next door to the border fence. There
were cameras located on top of the
fence to observe people crossing.
These cameras had not always
been there. They were put up right
before I turned twelve years old. I
used to watch people cross into the
United States. I was always worried
that something might happen to
someone crossing the border. I
had often seen immigration officers
arrest people. They carried guns
and if anyone was caught crossing
the border illegally they were
handcuffed and put in a truck.
Sometimes people were let go and
just told to go back. These were
the people who were attempting to
cross with babies and children.
One night I saw a woman
whom I knew tell her three sons
that she was going to go to San
Diego. She told her sons to remain
with their grandmother. The woman
left her sons with her mother. She
assured her sons that she would
be coming back very soon. The
mother knew the risk that she
faced; she might not return. She
did not want to tell her three sons
this. She kissed them goodbye. I
worried about her all that day. In
the next morning we heard two
helicopters flying over. Soon they
landed close to my house. There
were many bodies that they were
picking up. These were people who
were risking their lives to try to
cross the border. And one of those
people was the woman who left her
sons with their abulita so she and
her boys could have a better life in
America.
About eight months later
it began raining very hard. There
was a huge drainage tunnel near
our house and the border. It rained
and rained all night long – harder
than it had ever rained in my life. I
looked out the window late at night
and saw five people trying to walk
through the tunnel. At the end of
the tunnel was their ticket into the
United States – just like the end of