“There’s already people there that are dead and you see animals like snakes. You see everything and yeah it’s something ugly.”

Maria Espinoza was able to cross all the way from Mexico to the United States.

On her way over here she faced a lot of trouble getting here and a lot of dangers in her way she didn’t know what was gonna happen.

Unfortunately, Maria E. was caught by immigration three times and didn’t make it to the United States. She shares her experience on how she got here and what challenges she faced crossing the border.

Transcript:

Mariana Padilla: How was it coming to the United States?

Maria Espinoza: It was a different experience for me because i thought the United States was prettier and crossing the border was very [inaudible]  but I thought it was only about crossing with a car and on an airplane but it wasn’t like that.

MP: And how was it?

ME: It was a sad experience because you leave your family, parents, siblings over there and but also I came happy but also sad because I didn’t know what was going to happen during the time that I was crossing to come here it was a sad experience as I said because I was crossing with your auntie we were crossing and immigration caught us like three times the first time the immigration people caught us running and I felt bad because I didn’t know what was going to happen I didn’t know where they were going to take us I didn’t know if they were gonna lock us up and in reality I didn’t know what was going to happen.

MP: And what did the immigration people do? 

ME:Well they got us, they caught us and they put us in a car and they took us in a… Umm… well like a type of jail because they lock you up [inaudible] and they lock you up you feel like your in jail and then they took us to Tijuana in a bus not only be a lot of people actually and we had money we went to a hotel with your auntie and from there we tried crossing again and then again immigration caught us again but this time it was more bad because when we crossed the coyote the person that was helping us cross left us your auntie and me and this time we didn’t have money and then what we did we were hiding in the back of a trailer and we were there for like a day there hiding until a person saw us and they called the immigration on us and that was more bad because we didn’t have money your auntie and me we didn’t know what to do they brought to  Tijuana again we didn’t have know money and it was getting dark outside and we were gonna sleep in the streets we didn’t have money to pay the hotel and we went to the hotel with the little money that we had we went back to the hotel that we were last time but we didn’t have money to afford the hotel it was around 7 in the night we got to the hotel and we talked to the lady in the office to let us in because we didn’t have money and we didn’t know what to do and that night it was so bad because we didn’t have anything to eat we didn’t have any money for our hotel room that night we were gonna sleep in the streets.

MP: And did you guys sleep in the streets?

ME: No we didn’t sleep in the streets because the lady gave us permission to use her phone and we called here in Los Angeles were your other auntie was at and your auntie talked with the lady in the office and the lady let us be in a room but if it wasn’t for the lady that she let us use the phone we would have slept in the streets.

MP: And what happened next?

ME: The lady let us in the room and they send money so that we could pay the room. 

MP: How many days did you stay there?

ME: Umm .. we stayed there for 15 days.

MP: In the Hotel?

ME: Yes 15 days because we couldn’t cross to The United States for 15 days we were there and the third time immigration caught us again and I cried a lot because I didn’t wanna go to Los Angeles anymore I wanted to go back home because I didn’t know all this was gonna happen we were going starve cold and the money and we didn’t do anything it was a big city a different city from where I come and immigration had caught us and the person that was helping us cross told us told us to go to church so that you guys can pray you guys can be able to cross and go over there and that’s what we did your auntie and me that’s what we did we went to go pray so that we can be able to cross good but in on the way you face a lot of danger a lot of persons thrown on the ground also animals when you cross your thirsty you don’t bring water you have to walk.

MP: And how many days [inaudible]

ME: One night and in the morning immigration caught us and that hurts a lot because you’re walking all night and you think that your almost there at The United States but no your walking and so much sacrifice so that you could come so that the next day immigration could get you and they take you out that’s what happened we were thirsty cold and hungry and yeah I could tell you it was an ugly experience because we suffered and you feel bad because you walked all the time for what so that for nothing so that immigration could get you and take you out and it was a bad experience for me and also I could say for your auntie to.

MP: And when you got here what did you feel?

ME: Uhhh .. I Felt good because i was gonna see my family the family that I had here and see the city you get excited and you see that everything is different so much happiness it was a good experience being here something different so pretty because you come here and you see everything is different food, persons, the jobs there’s a lot of people a very different experience because over there where I come from there’s not really a lot of jobs there’s not money and you come and you see everything different and pretty and come over here but coming over here it was a sad experience because the people that you see thrown on the ground and people that hurt their legs they fall.

MP: When you say thrown on the ground what do you mean by that?

ME: Because there’s already people there that are dead and you see animals like snakes you see everything an yeah it’s something ugly.

MP: And did you ever hurt yourself?

ME: No no I helped a lady that hurt herself because she had high shoes and she hurt he feet but no i did not hurt myself but yeah it was a different experience we crossed on a bus I remembered we crossed with a bus and we were in you could say drawers were the bus engine was at they put us inside there with another guy in a drawers and they put dogs.

MP: Was it tiny?

ME: It was little we barely could fit in there we were crouched together i was tired your auntie and i felt like there was something burning me in my feet and it was the engine of the bus and I remember that we crossed and we passed and I remember that they put dogs in the bus and the dogs were smelling to make sure there was nobody on the bus but I prayed to god that they didn’t find us because if they found us [inaudible].

MP: Dogs? Police dogs?

ME: Immigration dogs they put dogs and they were there scratching where we were at but no no they didn’t find us I could say my experience was bad and sad but there’s other people that suffer more and getting her was [inaudible] I felt really happy getting here.