Family's journey puts human face on Supreme Court's immigration ruling

IMAGE: CNS photo/Jeff Bruno, The Monitor

By Patrick T. Brown

TRENTON,
N.J. (CNS) — “What’s the point of working so hard in school if you’re
going to end up cutting grass?”

Those
words stick with Jose Aguilar two decades later. He was sitting in a New Jersey
classroom, a teenager in the country without legal documents, and took his
ex-Marine teacher’s hard-nosed advice as license to, as he puts it, “give
up.”

Aguilar
remembers his teacher calling him an “excellent student,” but saying,
“I see a lot of kids just like you who end up working as a landscaper. If
I was you, I’d just quit school, and find something you’re good at.”

When
he was young, Jose had been brought across the U.S.-Mexico border without documentation
as his family pursued economic stability and a brighter future. His choices led
him to instability and a brush with death.

But
his journey didn’t end there. A conversion experience, becoming a father and making
a trip to a Catholic Charities immigration office helped him regain the promise
his family sought when crossing the border decades ago.

In
many ways, Jose’s story exemplifies the challenges and opportunities facing the
roughly 700,000 young people brought to this country without legal permission
who have found permanent legal status in the U.S. through the Deferred Action
for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.

Many
immigrants and immigrant advocates were hopeful the U.S. Supreme Court would
uphold President Barack Obama’s executive actions expanding the DACA program
and creating a new program, the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and
Lawful Permanent Residents, or DAPA.

Obama’s
policies were aimed at temporarily protecting more than 4 million unauthorized
immigrants from deportation and allowing them to have temporary work permits,
but 26 states challenged the president’s policies and they were put on hold last
November by a Texas-based federal judge. His injunction was upheld by the 5th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

On
June 23, in United States v. Texas, the high court in a 4-4 decision upheld the
circuit court’s ruling.

The
ruling could have a far-ranging impact on families struggling to stay together
and gain a foothold from which to build a more stable future.

Families
not unlike Jose and Marina Aguilar.

Jose
was 7 when his family succeeded on their fourth attempt to cross the border.

“The
guy that was supposed to bring us, he abandoned us in the desert, he left us
there,” Jose recalled in an interview with The Monitor, newspaper of the
Diocese of Trenton. Another “coyotaje” — a smugglers who help
migrants cross the border without authorization — came across them and helped
them finish the journey.

“When
I was in Mexico, they all told me the U.S. was beautiful, that I would have
everything I never had over there, and at first it was like, ‘That was a lie,'”
Jose said. “It was horrible at first, crying, missing Mexico, but you just
get used to it.”

He
learned English, “good enough that my friends thought I was born here,”
and worked hard in the classroom. Then came his conversation with his teacher,
and the spiral downwards commenced.

“I’m
not blaming him for what happened, because it’s my fault, but … I gave up. I
gave up hope,” Jose said. “I didn’t care about my mom’s tears, I
really didn’t care about any of it. I’m not proud of it.”

He
joined a gang, parties were frequent, drugs became a part of life — then more
than just a part. An accidental overdose left Jose in the hospital, at death’s
door. He started seeing deceased family members. Feeling his time was up, he
started to pray.

“I
told God, ‘Don’t do it for me,'” Jose said. “‘I deserve this. I
deserve to die. I am nothing. But don’t let my mom suffer for what I’m doing.
Because she doesn’t deserve it.'”

He
recovered, started attending church again, and swore off drugs. He found the
stability his mother wanted for him in leaving Mexico, and a large part of that
change occurred upon meeting his now-wife, Marina, and the birth of their
daughter, Helen.

“Once
she was born, we were like, ‘We have to do something about changing her life,’
because it’s not just about our life anymore, everything is about her now,”
Marina said. “We want her to have both of her parents, always, and that’s
it. It’s just the best thing that happened to us. She’s our sunshine.”

Jose
and Marina, who belong to St. Anthony Claret Parish in Lakewood, New Jersey, began to look
into programs that would help Marina become a permanent U.S. citizen. A friend
encouraged them to attend an outreach presentation organized by Catholic
Charities Community Services.

Marina’s
green card meant she could apply for lawful citizenship. For over two months,
she stressed over studying for the citizenship exam, finding time during breaks
at work or before going to sleep.

As
the date of her test approached, her car was stolen. Inside was the green card
proving her legal residence.

Catholic
Charities helped Marina navigate the bureaucracy and continue her journey
toward becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen. Even after she passed the
citizenship test, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services still made her
wait two months before the naturalization ceremony to investigate the lost
green card.

When
the day finally came for Marina to be sworn in as a U.S. citizen, she said, “I
just couldn’t stop crying.

“It
really means a lot to me — I met Jose here, my daughter was born here, this is
now my country. I really worked hard for it, and it’s my country now.”

Regardless
of the court’s June 23 ruling, having the stability of legal status in the U.S.
has made the Aguilars’ lives less stressful in innumerable ways.

“I
used to be scared before, of him (Jose) going out (for the day) and not coming
back,” Marina told The Monitor. “I used to always make sure I went
with him, so in case anything happened, I knew he’d be OK. … We don’t need to
be scared anymore.”

Marina
hopes Helen will grow up learning to dream big but added that “nobody will
give you anything for free. … You have to work hard for it.”

After
obtaining his GED and receiving legal status through DACA, Jose already has a new
goal: to be sponsored into U.S. citizenship by Marina and become a licensed contractor.

“It’s
not that I’m not happy with what I have,” Jose said, “but I want my
daughter to have a better future.”


– –

Brown
is outgoing editor of The Monitor, newspaper of the Diocese of Trenton.

– – –

Copyright © 2016 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.

Original Article