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Document 1 CITIZENSHIP ISSUES CAN CAUSE STRESS ON FAMILIES The first time Carmen tried to cross the Rio Grande River into the United States she was a newly married 16-year-old. She was the youngest of the dozen or so who were attempting to leave their homeland for a future of
Document 1 CITIZENSHIP ISSUES CAN CAUSE STRESS ON FAMILIES The first time Carmen tried to cross the Rio Grande River into the United States she was a newly married 16-year-old. She was the youngest of the dozen or so who were attempting to leave their homeland for a future of uncertainties. Her husband had already made the crossing to get her to the promised land of Texas. 5 “We were crossing through a drainage pipe(1) but were caught,” she remembers of that harrowing night in 1993. The four women in the group were put up in a hotel, with no food until the next afternoon. When they were released, they waited until dark, this time with the understanding that a few individuals would sacrifice themselves and be caught, the 10 distraction giving the others in the group a chance to disappear quietly into the darkness. Now 35 and living in northwest Arkansas with her husband and four American-born children, Carmen can still recall the memory of her first crossing. She is not alone. Countless others of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the 15 U.S. have similar tales to tell of a risky, if not life-threatening, escape to America. Twenty years later, the stakes remain high(2) for Carmen and her family. She and her husband keep the family afloat(3) doing construction jobs and housekeeping. But the imminent threat of deportation of her husband keeps her awake at night. “When someone knocks at the door, I am afraid they have come for him. I worry about 20 my children and I want them to stay here where there is food and they can get an education,” she said. www.arkansas-rogers.org, Alessia Schaefer, February 21, 2013 (1) a drainage pipe = a pipe to evacuate rain water (2) the stakes remain high = survival is still difficult (3) keep the family afloat = support the family financially 17AN2TEIN1 Page 2 sur 6 Document 2 REJECTING THE AMERICAN DREAM, MEXICANS REINTEGRATE BACK HOME Mexico City native Nelly Lozano lived what some might consider the American Dream. Lozano had a college education, a high-paying job at Boeing that paid for an “almost brand-new” car and a quiet, comfortable home in Renton(1). Meanwhile, she actually dreamt of returning to Mexico. 5 “What are you doing here?” she asked herself. “Why do you live here if you’re not happy – if you’re not completely happy?”