Paula Guzman and her daughters

Paula Guzman, U.S.Citizen Married to an Aspiring U.S. Citizen

I was born in Sparks, Nevada and graduated from Sparks High School. I moved to Oregon in Nov.,1994, where a few months later I met my husband and the father of my daughters, Ramiro, who was born in Mexico. Rachel was born in Reno and Angelica was born in Oregon.

Ramiro retired after working for the Mexican Army for 22 years. He would go for months at a time into remote mountains to capture the drug cartel.  He didn't work for the U.S. but what he did benefited the U.S.

Ramiro came to the US on a Tourist Visa. Then he worked hard on farms and his bosses asked him to return each year.

In 1995 after he and others completed their seasonal work on a Christmas tree farm, the owner of the farm called the immigration authorities and Ramiro was detained. The judge said that Ramiro had to leave the country by Nov. 1996 or be deported. Ramiro had to be out of the US for 10 years before he could reapply for a Green Card.

It was difficult for me and the girls to move to Mexico, but we did, to be with him and keep our family together. It was hard for us in Mexico. There was a lot of violence. We heard gunshots and grenades at night. We would sleep on the floor in the room furthest from the street so we wouldn’t be hit by bullets.

Many of our friends and neighbors were murdered by the drug cartels. They would hang people from the bridges, and cut up dead people and display the body parts to scare everyone. Even our pastor’s son was kidnapped and held for ransom.

After 10 years of waiting in Mexico, my daughters and I came back to the US in 2011 so they could have a good education and we wouldn’t be around all the violence.

I wonder every day if I made the right decision. Ramiro’s papers still have not been approved. He is still waiting. He has filed all the documents, but the immigration system is broken.

My girls and I miss him terribly. We are often sad and try not to cry all the time. 

Rachel had been planning for her Baptism & 15^th Birthday  "Quince Años" since she was 9. She even designed her dress. But we didn’t have the big party because her dad wasn’t here with us.

Our hearts ache for him. The girls love being back in the U.S. They love school here and all they are learning also being with family. But Romero is not here with us. 

Christian Arroyo

Christian Arroyo, His dad is a New American Immigrant

My name is Christian Arroyo. I am 8 years old and a 2^nd grade student at Marvin Moss School in Sparks.

My mom, is an American Citizen. My dad has no green card.

My dad takes me to karate and the park. My mom gets me to make plays and draw. I love being with both of them and both of them are very special to me.

Because my dad has no papers, I worry that he could be arrested any time. And then I would not see him.  I love him a lot.

I need my Mom and my Dad in my life.

When immigration reform gets passed, please make it cost less. Then people who do not have a lot of money can stay here. Then I know that I will have my Dad in my life while I grow up.

Thank you for caring!

Sam Mendoza

Sam  Mendoza, Dreamer

I am 17 years old and a student at Hug High School in Reno. I was born in Leon Guanajuato, Mexico. When I was 8 years old, one night my dad woke me up in the middle of the night to leave for the United States.

It was a long hard journey by my parents and me. We crossed a fast moving river and I was very afraid of drowning. We walked for many hours through wet and muddy farms. When a helicopter circled overhead, we ducked down in a ditch. We had to hide for days before we crossed, with no food or supplies, except for a salami. 

After a lot of struggle, we eventually got to the US. 5 months ago my dad went to get his drivers’ license renewed and while there, he was picked up and arrested by ICE (the Immigration Control Enforcement.) It became up to me pay the rent and buy food while he was in jail. I worked 3 jobs while also going to school. I sold hot dogs, worked at the flea market, remodeled houses. But because I am a kid and was undocumented, I wasn’t even paid the minimum wage. They gave me $6 or $7 an hour. It was very hard.

Finally we got loans to get my dad out of jail. He is now working on a ranch so we don’t get to see him, but he sends us money. He has to go for a hearing soon and we are afraid that he may be deported. Then what will I do?

I was able to get my deferred action papers so now I can legally work and apply to college. But I am worried about how I will continue with my education if my dad is deported.

I am very glad my parents brought me to the United States to get a good education, but it can be hard to survive. I wish for immigration reform so my family can all stay together and my dad can take care of me and my mom.

It is important for the costs of immigration not be $4,000 as that is so much money. My family of 4 lives on only $15,000 annually, so how could we afford $4,000 each? It could prevent us from becoming citizens. And then I would very unhappy.  

Mario Gomez and Nivia Lucas

Mario Gomez and Nivia Lucas

We arrived in Reno from our home country, Guatemala.  Mario got here first, he came in 2004 and then I came in 2006.

We had met in Guatemala and had a daughter.  She was three months old when Mario left to come to Reno.  Two years later, I followed and she had to stay behind until we were able to get her.  She is now in the fourth grade and going to school here in Reno.

The separation was hard on us and on our little girl, but we came here looking for a better life.  The very bad economic situation in Guatemala was the main factor for us to migrate to the United States.  When you add the violence and the corruption, we had to leave.

We wanted a better life for our daughter and for us.  We came here looking for work.  It was not easy, but we persevered and found work and we are still employed.

Both Mario and I finished high school in our country and I have finished 2 years of college.  We both thought we knew English, but it has been hard to learn the language.

We both want to get our high school equivalency (GED) in order to be better with our English so we can continue to improve.

Immigration Reform for us will mean stability.  Our dream is to move forward, raise our children, buy a house and have more opportunities to succeed.  We want to have our own business, so we can help create jobs for others.  That is our dream.

We would like to encourage Congress to please pass comprehensive Path to Citizenship.  It would be a great benefit to keep our families together.