Adrian

Adrian is originally from Mexico City, but he and his family have been living in the United States since 1992, since he was 5 years old. The United States, in many ways, is the only home he really knows even if he came here illegally with his family through Nogales. His formative years were formed entirely in this country, not Mexico where he will be deported to next month.

Adrian's father was deported about six years ago, and he hired a lawyer to try to help him fight the deportation. Unfortunately, like many other immigrants' experience, this lawyer not only failed him, but also took a large sum of money without completing the job he had to do to keep his father in the United States. Once in Mexico, Adrian's father didn't check in with the US Embassy, which he was required to do. Because of this, ICE came to Adrian's family home looking for his father and instead found the whole family. This is typical of many of the raids; ICE comes looking for one person in particular but ends up taking away anyone who is not documented. One of his brothers is already in Mexico with his father, and in June, Adrian, his mother and his brother will have to report to immigration customs and will be deported as well.

I met Adrian through my wife, who teaches at a local community college; he was a student of hers for a couple of quarters. She recommended that I talk to Adrian about his experiences with ICE because he is in the process of being deported. What strikes me about Adrian's story is his dedication to bettering himself and his life for the sake of uplifting his family. Like so many immigrants, Adrian has succeeded academically in college, earning a high GPA and the respect of his teachers and peers through academic work as well as his work as a student organizer on campus. If Adrian was given the opportunity to continue with his studies, it is clear that he would continue to flourish and that he would contribute greatly to his community, both on and off campus. However, like so many others, Adrian will have to put these dreams on hold. All the work and energy he has put into building himself as an academic and student activist is now on hold because he is working tirelessly, six days a week at two jobs, to save money so that he and his family may have something to live off temporarily when they are deported.