31 May 2010, 2:12 pm
SAN LUIS RIO COLORADO, Son. - SB 1070, which takes effect July 29, may not stop the flow of illegal immigration, as illegal immigrants say they will try to find some other way to cross. This is the view of illegal immigrants who are deported and are waiting for another opportunity to cross the border from San Luis Rio Colorado, Son. Pedro Noel Bojorquez, an immigrant from the Mexican state of Sinaloa, said SB 1070 “is an inhumane law. Many of us want to cross so that we can work. Immigrants founded that country. Why is there such hatred toward us? Things are getting worse instead of getting better.” Pedro crossed to the U.S. on May 17, and he was deported to Mexicali on the following day. This situation is not new to him. Since 1982, he has been going back and forth but said he has found it harder to cross in recent years and fears that it will only get harder to do so. “If I cross over through here (Arizona), I run the risk of being detained. If I go through Mexicali, I run the risk of being stopped by the police, mugged or picked up by 'bajadores', then the Border Patrol and the police here again. There are many obstacles.” The new obstacles facing illegal immigrants in Arizona make him more cautious. “I will cross again but not through Arizona, maybe through California. I think it may be easier there. I hope things there don't become as hard as in Arizona, because I don't know what will happen then.” Pedro was interviewed while he was having breakfast at Casa del Migrante, a shelter in San Luis Rio Colorado where deportees can eat, shower and spend the night. They can spend up to three days while they decide whether they will keep trying to cross to the United States, return to their families or find work somewhere other than their hometown, where Pedro said there are few work opportunities. Another deportee, Juan Cervantes, said he has been deported more than 60 times but will continue trying to come to America. “I've worked (in the U.S.) for 27 years. If I can cross and can stay, I will find a job with a company in San Diego.” “You know when I'm going to stop trying to cross? When I die. I'm going to try to cross again tomorrow or the day after.” Juan, who is from the Mexican state of Guerrero, said SB 1070 has made Arizona the worst state for immigrants. “They are wrong if they think we are going to stop trying to cross. I've lived there half of my life. I'm not afraid.” For others like Fidel López, these bad experiences have made him stop trying to make it to America. “I don't want to hear anything about the United States anymore. Wednesday was the last night I tried to cross and I almost died,” he said. Fidel jumped the fence in San Luis but had to return because the Border Patrol was following him. When he jumped back over into Mexico, he slipped and injured his face. His family raises cattle in the Mexican state of Guanajuato. Fidel said he decided to cross illegally into the United States because he wanted a better life. Instead, he said he found hatred toward immigrants. “This law only empowers those who don't want us there,” he said. Jorge Luis Mendoza, who is waiting at Benito Juárez Park in San Luis Río Colorado so that he can cross through Los Algodones or Tecate, Baja Calif., agrees with Fidel and adds that in the long run, legislation such as SB 1070 will impact the U.S. “They don't accept the fact that without illegal immigration they lose productivity. Americans don't do those kinds of jobs.” “They are blaming us for their problems and all they are doing is generating hatred,” Jorge Luis said. He explained that he was deported Wednesday after being detained in El Centro. “Arizona is the most racist state, but they are already feeling the consequences because businesses are closing and the only thing that is coming is more crisis for them and more problems for us.” http://www.yumasun.com/news/cross-61393-luis-immigrants.html... Read More »
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