TRAITORS

by Gerardo Robledo

  To fulfill his promise of caring for his siblings, Pablo decided to bring his brother Luis to the United States to guide and educate him, be a role model, and provide him a better life. He left Maria in the hands of their grandmother who was sixty-two years old. Pablo was also hoping to take them with him someday so that they can all live together again.

  In late 2000, Luis came to the United States and lived with his brother Pablo and his wife Norma. He enrolled in Sylmar Middle School, where he quickly learned the language and began to achieve excellent grades. He had become an outstanding student even with the language barrier. Thus, the first year student had succeeded in achieving the best grades in his class.

  In September 2001, everything changed not only for Americans but for the rest of the world. The most cowardly act in the history of the United States was perpetrated by the terrorist group Al-Qaeda and forever changed the lives of people inside and outside the country. The most affected were the immigrants living within the U.S. Any foreigner, especially if illegally here, was in danger of being unjustly accused. Not only that, this would also lead to a delay, and almost make it unthinkable, to enact legislation for the [massive] legalization of millions of immigrants already settled in the country.

  In early 2002, the company Pablo’s worked for moved to another state. The couple decided not to follow the firm since they were already adapted to life in California. They knew it would be very difficult to start all over again as they would be leaving friends and family behind. It was especially true for Norma, most of whose family lived near them. Meanwhile, Pablo knew that Luis had already adapted to that city and it would be very hard for him to move again since he had already been through so many struggles at such a young age.

  Norma and Pablo began looking for new job opportunities but were unsuccessful. This immediately resulted in the depletion of their savings. During their job search, they encountered the possibility of joining the Armed Forces. As a result of the 9/11 attacks, many opportunities to serve the country opened up. This gave them the chance to start a new career funded by the Government since recruits were trained in various areas and later, they could opt to specialize in their field.

  Both were very interested and felt very optimistic. Norma was very close to her parents and siblings, and they immediately showed their unconditional support for them. The only thing that hindered them a bit was the fact that Luis lived with them. They had to leave their home since they would have to establish themselves on a military base. Pablo had to consider Luis’ welfare. He was absolutely responsible for his brother and they were both very attached. Luis had expressed his happiness living with him and he understood all the sacrifices that his brother had made not only for him but also for his family. Pablo was still supporting their grandmother and sister back in Mexico.

  Luis was very mature and gave his unconditional support to Pablo and Norma. He told them that he would go live with Aunt Lupita, the cousin of their late mother and the only relative they had on this side of the border. The final word, of course, had to come from their aunt and her husband. Lupita and her husband were both working parents and had two children of their own: seven year old Marcos, and thirteen year old Andres who went to the same school as Luis. Understanding the situation and knowing that Luis was very responsible and a very good student who was not into drugs or friends of bad influence, they decided to help and lend their support.

  Luis soon began to adapt to his new family and started participating in all their activities. The family was a member the local church, Santa Rosa de Lima. They regularly went to Sunday Mass in which Andres was a member of the church’s youth choir and was registered in the youth group to prepare him for confirmation. Luis also signed up with the group so they could go together. This made their friendship grow independent of their kinship.

  The following year, Luis graduated from middle school and as expected, received high honors for his dedication and effort.

  That night, after consummating their love, Luis and Zina began all the preparations for their high school graduation. It was no surprise to anyone, Luis would be the Valedictorian. He was loved not only for being a great athlete, but also for the support he had given the school in all areas, on top of being a member of the student council. He had always been a frontrunner every time any kind of help was needed. He was always willing to participate in civic and humanitarian acts such as the one, which occurred late last year when the disastrous Hurricane Katrina struck Louisiana. Luis, along with the school’s student council, put in their grain of sand by participating in the process of humanitarian aid, in conjunction with the American Red Cross, to collect food supply and help with the distribution of food and clothing for the victims of that great disaster. He used his great charisma to provide help to his community and those who needed him. He was part of the support group in the reconstruction process.

  He also participated in his parish activities forming teams to help people in need and attended to the homeless in downtown Los Angeles bringing them food and support. The plight of the homeless touched his heart every time they would talk to him about their situation and he understood their predicament.

  Luis had been a constant and an intense participant in the demonstrations held in May of 2006’s pro-immigrant marches for he too was an immigrant. Despite being so young, the feeling of being undocumented was etched in his skin.

  That afternoon, he did not receive any honors for his achievements simply for being undocumented. Despite this, he received a standing ovation from all students when he was named The Best Student of his generation. His grand prize was the love he received from all his fellow students.

  During the event, Luis found the courage to speak to Zina’s parents and make their relationship official. Although not in total agreement, the girl’s father did not pose much opposition because his daughter had finished high school and had also received honors as an excellent student. He also had the courtesy to congratulate Luis for his recognition and questioned why he was not able to receive the honors, which he duly deserved. He also asked the two to see to it that they finish their courses first before taking further steps into their relationship since the top priority was having a good education.

  The following day, there was a grand celebration in Aunt Lupita’s house since it was custom for all students to celebrate their last day together. Pablo assured Luis that he would continue to support him as far as he wanted to get, and although he was still enlisted in the Army, he would continue taking care of him and his family in Mexico. In the celebration was Norberto whom he had also graduated. Luis’ cousin was, of course, there too; he was just a year behind from finishing high school.

  That night, Luis formally spoke to his family about his relationship with Zina. He let them know that he would fight for her, but he was also willing to follow Zina’s father’s rules who had asked them to finish school, before anything else.

  Luis took advantage of the timing to ask his brother about the legalization process, which they had already started and asked him to do what he could to hasten it. Unfortunately, little could be done because when a permanent resident files a residency application for a sibling, the process takes ten to fifteen years to be completed. The only benefit of having filed the application was to be under the protection of the law [Act 245i], which allows applicants to complete the whole process without having to leave the country. The law however, also prevents applicants from leaving the country before the completion of the process. If they do, they could lose the opportunity to receive residency status and they would have to again wait at least ten years before they could file another legalization application. Luis was worried that since he had already finished high school, he had to find a job—at least part time. He needed a social security number and a driver’s license to be able to do this. However, in the state of California, such licenses are not issued to the undocumented.

  Things for migr
ants were not only more difficult due to new laws that attacked the undocumented, but also because the legalization process was getting increasingly stricter. This made for such a desperate wait for the applicants that many people made decisions that negatively affected their application process. Many, in watching over the well-being of their families, even traveled to their countries of origin without the necessary documents for a legal return.

  There were many incredible and heart wrenching stories of people who had suffered immensely in their journey to the United States; like that of one of Pablo’s co-worker’s (at his last job) sister. She was forced to embark on the adventure to migrate, knowing she was six months pregnant. Her story was a tragic one because although she survived the ordeal, her unborn child was not as lucky—due to the thoughtless and irresponsible “Coyote” she was taken through a dangerous route in which they had to walk for more than three days. Without the proper nourishment and precautions, as well as being exposed to the elements, during the first twenty-four hours she suffered a miscarriage. Knowing this and despite her lifeless fetus, she had to push on for three more days in order to reach some kind of medical attention. When she was finally rescued, she had lost consciousness and had been carried by some in her group who had made a makeshift stretcher out of branches and blankets that they had with them.

  After almost two months being hospitalized, she managed to recuperate and although there were repercussions that would affect her forever, she has again incorporated herself into her usual life. However, she will always mentally carry the great trauma that will affect her for the rest of her life.

  Perhaps this girl was fortunate, considering the hundreds of dead bodies that are found each year along the U.S./Mexico border—including those of children who are abandoned to fend for themselves. There are also hundreds of reports in which immigrants are abducted or raped; most of those cases go unsolved. Not to mention the dead bodies that are never claimed by anyone.

  It also came to pass that sometime around those days, they received news that Grandma Andrea had become seriously ill due to her old age and diabetes, which she was diagnosed with several years before.

  Although Grandma Andrea looked after herself in every way she could, age was a determining factor for a woman to suddenly deteriorate. She also received little attention since her grandchildren were in the US and her only son who lived in the city was a sales agent. Being in sales meant he had to work a lot and travel constantly thus having little time to spare. The elderly lady only had the support of her granddaughter Maria (Luis’s sister) who did her best to help, but didn’t yet have the maturity to take on such a commitment.

  Luis called the following day, as he always would, and talked to his er about the grandmother’s health.

  “I think she’s going to recuperate but the doctor said she ought to take care of herself more than ever because a single relapse might bring her very serious consequences; and you know how she is!”

  “Then you take good care of her,” said Luis sounding worried “Try insisting that she at least take her medicines on time without fail because if it’s up to her she won’t take them and it could be very dangerous to her.”

  As usual, Luis kept on insisting for his grandmother to come to the United States at least for a vacation, although he knew beforehand that she would never accept. It was the reason that his sister Maria had not come since she didn’t want to leave her grandmother alone.

  Grandma Andrea said the US was only there to separate families and that she would never even visit. This is how the majority of our parents who live a humble but happy life usually think. That same month, Pablo and Norma decided to take advantage of the two-week vacation they had accumulated and spent it with their grandmother. She had been a mother for the three siblings, spending her life devoted exclusively to them.

  With this visit, Grandma Andrea and Maria were at peace because the fact that, their presence was a great encouragement for the elderly lady. Luis, meanwhile, stopped worrying, at least for a few days as his brother could take good care of Grandma Andrea.

  Luis decided to look for work again. He visited some of the places where he had temporarily worked while on vacation. He wasn’t lucky at first because this time, a full time job was more difficult for them to accommodate. It led him to look elsewhere and file several applications in some factories around the area, including the industrial center of Valencia, located about twenty minutes north of San Fernando Valley. He also filed some applications over the Internet. He soon realized he would need documents that would validate his status. It steered him to buy falsified documents to get a job. Zina immediately objected, knowing the sensitivity of the matter. If it was discovered, it could ruin his immigration process which, even though slow, was favorably advancing. In addition, they both knew that by the time they got married, even if the process was still not completed, it could accelerate because if an immigrant married a U.S. citizen, the procedure hastens as long as the applicant is under the protection of Act 245i. Such was the case with Luis.

  Despite Zina’s objection, Luis moved to obtain the documents. In less than two weeks, he managed to get a great job as a computer technician at a local company, since he already had some experience before, when he had worked for a family friend.

  Time resumed its march without major changes. Zina was already about to finish her second trimester at UCLA and her grades were as excellent as in high school. For his part, Luis was also about to complete his first semester of general subjects at Mission College [in Sylmar]. His grades were also outstanding.

  What was not improving was the health of Grandmother Andrea who was again afflicted by diabetes and the toll of her old age.

  “Luis, I’ve noticed that you seem a little distracted lately, what’s going on with you?” Zina asked. “You have been acting strange and it also seems you haven’t been getting enough sleep. You have dark circles around your eyes, what’s wrong? I hope everything is alright.”

  “Yes, I’m fine,” said Luis. “It’s just that many things have me worried. Apparently the factory where I work is going to cut jobs and being the newest in my department, I’m afraid I’m among those who will be without a job. You already know how hard it is for me to find one because of the necessary documents. You see, with so many things they report on the news, it has become very hard to find work. And on top of that, my grandmother had another relapse and I fear that one day she’s not going to be with us anymore. All my life, I will have to answer to my conscience for not being able to go see her.”

  “What did the lawyer say about your case? Sometimes I think he’s not even doing his job as he should,” said Zina.

  “I don’t think that’s the case. This lawyer has a good reputation. The process just takes a long time. The last time we saw him, he said it would take at least four more years. It seems that day will never come,” said Luis.

  “Why don’t we go talk to him and see if you can get a humanitarian permit? Due to the fact that your grandmother is sick, I think they would give it to you,” said Zina.

  Abuse towards immigrants is also prevalent among lawyers without scruples who take advantage, in some cases, of the ignorance of those applicants who don’t know much about the laws. Not only do they charge high fees, but they take on cases of deportation in which they offer immoral representation. These so-called lawyers don’t care about the well-being of their clients; they only care about fattening their wallets.

  That same afternoon, they both went to the lawyers’ office in the neighboring city of Santa Clarita, to try to get more information about the humanitarian permit.

  “It is very difficult and very risky…” declared the lawyer, “since you are not supposed to leave while under the process. Although in some cases they have been granting this permit to certain applicants, there have been cases where immigrants were denied validation of their permit while crossing the borde
r. And if by unfortunate luck that on the day of your immigration appointment you chance upon a very strict agent, he can deny your case. Because even if you left the country with a humanitarian permit, the law still states that you ought to stay in the country while your case is being processed.”

  “Would there be a way to speed up this process?” Zina asked.

  “Well, the only solution that you can take advantage of is marriage. By getting married, you can change the procedure. You can be legalized in six to eight months after the filing of the application; otherwise, we will have to continue waiting. Based on the date you filed the application, you still have to wait around four to six years.

  Feeling down about the answer, which they had received, they left the office and met at Aunt Lupita’s given that by the following week, Pablo would again be on a mission to Afghanistan. Norma, meanwhile, would remain in service within the United States since they were happily awaiting their first child—the fruit of their nearly eight years of marriage.

  That afternoon, Zina made a proposal, which she had thought of, that could somewhat help with the family situation. “What do you think if Luis and I were to marry? Only through civil ceremony; since we are completely sure of our love. It would accelerate the immigration process and he could travel to see his grandmother, which he really needs to do.