Although the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 established a quota for countries in the Western Hemisphere for the first time in U.S. history, this did not deter immigrants from Mexico, Central American, and South America from seeking opportunities in the United States. Political upheaval in Latin American nations combined with potential opportunities for employment and economic gains left many migrants with few choices but to flee their homelands to seek refuge and stability in the United States. While many U.S. citizens associate immigrants from Latin America with poverty and back-breaking agricultural labor, middle-class and educated migrants from these nations also formed an important component of this stream of migration following the 1965 act.
University student Ulises H. is an example of one such immigrant. In hopes of gaining better opportunities in a different country, Ulises H. and his girlfriend Claudia left Guadalajara, Mexico, for the United States in 1989. Ulises’s ultimate goal was to settle in Canada once they earned enough money and acquired the right documentation; however, he became frustrated with a lack of job opportunities and his treatment by Americans and decided to return to Mexico and settled in Mexico City instead. As Ulises’s story reveals, many migrants from Mexico often moved across the border many times and were not always enamored with life in “the North.” This interview with Ulises provides an interesting view of the migrant’s experience in the United States after 1965.
I left Guadalajara because I was tired of everything, of school, home, my country, and my city. I was just tired and wanted to do something different. I did that with a bit of romanticism because I thought that I could do it over there; of course, I didn’t think it would be an idyll period or a paradise. I always thought that one goes to the U.S. to a party to which we have never been invited. Unfortunately, once there, we fight for the stripped land, and not only Mexicans, but all Latinos. It’s sad that one fights for it.
When we left, we left with a Canadian visa of employment. It was until the mid-80s where you could go to the embassy and got a job there. However, there were problems in both the U.S. and Canada, and suddenly everyone was seeking job there; not only Latinos, but also Japanese. I went to Mexico to the embassy about 3 or 4 years, and there were no more visas. So, my idea of going to Canada was not possible, besides it was expensive and far away….
Claudia went with me, because we wanted to continue our relationship; we wanted to be together. She worked as an auxiliary at the University and left the job….
I got my visa in 1990. I put a suit on; I don’t remember if I had a shirt or a t-shirt. I didn’t have a tie. I had tennis [shoes] or sandals, like always. Then, the American asked us: “aren’t you going to work?”
I got a bit upset, and said, “How can I go to work if I’m a student.”
— “Are you a student? What are you studying?” he asked.
— “Philosophy,” I replied.
He asked me about Philosophy, and my thoughts about Plato. Since, they think well about Plato, I talked good about him. So, he only requested my ID. I filled a lot of documented [documentation], and I showed that I was working with my aunt and that she would give me money for my trip. However, the visa for my girlfriend was a lot more difficult. They interviewed her and showed all her documents. At the end, we both got the visa.
My desire was to go to Canada. Somehow, we had information from readings and from people who have gone and tell you all about it. Since we couldn’t make it, I thought to go the U.S. instead, and once there, to go North. When we arrived, I learned the harsh reality. I arrived with my family, and it was very hard with them. I wanted to move somewhere else, but if I did that, I would have to pay rent, food, everything. In order to do that, I had to look for a job. So, I had to do that. Suddenly, I was working. What I wanted it to be a temporal [temporary] job that would help me migrate to Canada, was not like that. I was there for 15 months, 9 of them with no employment. The first couple of months I searched for a job, but it was useless since there was a lot of unemployment. I lived reading, drinking, with drugs, partying. I couldn’t do anything else. I didn’t have Money to go out. Money is what makes you move over there. If you want to go to Hollywood, you need money for it; if you want to go to a concert, you need money as well. In addition, if you don’t have a job, it’s difficult to do things. That’s why I ended up at the library checking out books, since I didn’t have anything else to do….
When I went to the North, I didn’t plan anything. I don’t like to make plans, because they never work. I thought of going to the U.S., stay for a couple of months, and then immigrate to Canada. However, I stayed all the year and a half in the U.S. It was tiring to look for a job. My cousins could never get me a job. I didn’t have any more acquaintances. One of my cousins had worked as a gardener for many years, so he took me with his old boss, and we were told that there was no job available.
Another time, I was looking for a job at the factories. A sign at one of the factories at Lanhaywood said: “All solicitants will be shot.” …
The worse is that all the receptionists — American or Chicanas, all treat you the same way. They get upset of us looking for a job. For them is obvious that there are no jobs, but we do have to ask and they get upset of us asking. Our situation is different than theirs. There are lots of people looking for jobs. I got to see entire families gathering and selling aluminum cans and bottles.
One time, I was talking with a guy from Michoacan. I found him on a bridge. I was taking a drink and I had just a bit left, so I invited him some. He told me that he sold his land in Mexico to pay the smuggler and come to work. He had five months and had found no job at all. So, he didn’t have anything to send his family. In addition, he didn’t have any land left. I heard stories like that. On the other hand, some Mexicans have created a subculture. For example, in Los Angeles, people from Guanatos and Mexico City, found several jobs on the black market. It’s a job source very important; there are a lot of people selling drugs. It’s bad….
The U.S. is a crazy country, a sad one and an unmoral one. For example, you see prostitutes, mainly black ones; they tell you that they do the job for $2 dollars. That’s only to get some money. That happened to me once. Women were offering to do the job for only $2 dollars; Young girls of 14 or 15 years, that was really sad…. That’s upsetting. There is no equity. They treat you bad, like if we were at the beginning of the century. They say that if you don’t work, they fire you; that if you don’t do your job well, there are plenty of people outside waiting for an opportunity. I didn’t have the need of the people working there, but I didn’t want to be treated like that….
Sometimes, when I think about the U.S., I’d like to go again, but I’m not sure for how long. In many ways, it was a good experience. If I would have job secured, I would be interested for a couple of months. Then, I’d like to be without a job for another 3 or 6 months in order to do the things I like. If you work and work alone, that’s bad. Most of the people I met, mostly Mexican, they work and work, return very tired, then, they don’t like to think about the North. I prefer to wait for another opportunity and return.
Source: Excerpt from "To Work and Wear Oneself Down," interview with Ulysses H., a Mexican migrant, 1992. Mexican Migration Project, Princeton University, http://mmp.opr.princeton.edu/expressions/life_histories/hdvda12-en.aspx. Original text is in Spanish and appears in the following book on pages 50–69: Jorge Durand, El Norte es como el Mar. Entrevistas a trabajadores migrantes en los Estados Unidos, 1996. Guadalajara: Universidad de Guadalajara. Text has been translated in English with the permission of the author, who is the co-director of the Mexican Migration Project.
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