My name is Stella Jackson. I am 42 years old. I am a single mother living in a small town in Texas. I have three sons: a 12 year old, an 11 year old, and a 9 year old. Their father left as soon as he found out I was pregnant for the third time. We have been struggling financially ever since. My kids and I have been living in a small apartment for 10 years. I could not afford to keep paying for the house after their father walked out on us. My children attend a public school in the next town over. Our town was too small and did not have enough kids to even have a small school. I always struggled keeping a job. I always seemed to jump from one job to another. I have been a waitress, hotel cleaner, store clerk, and the list goes on. I had no one to go to for help. My father left my family when I was a little girl and my mother passed away when I was pregnant with my second child. I was not close to any of my brothers and sisters. My only family was my boys.
It was summer of 2016 and I had gotten laid off from my job as a grocery store cashier because apparently, they did not need my help anymore. I was furious. I did not know how we were going to make it past the month. I was worried that my children would be taken away from me. I hurried home to change my clothes so that I could go out in search of a new job. That's when I saw them. It was a mexican family of about 8. They were moving in next door. There was an older couple, a middle aged couple, a young man, and three kids. They didn’t seem to have many belongings with them. I knew they were immigrants. The middle aged woman smiled at me as I walked past. I kept walking, keeping a straight face. I knew they were immigrants. That angered me. I knew I needed to find a job soon before they took mine.
A few days went by. I still had no job. I noticed that the family next door had no problem finding jobs. The father seemed to be working some type of construction, and the mother would bake cakes or other food. I would always see other people come to pick it up. Their kids had become friends with mine. They went to the same school and took the same bus. Some days my boys would go outside and play with them, but I would not allow them to stay out long because I did not want my kids around them too much.
After two weeks of searching, I finally found a job. It was at the hotel I had worked at before. I was going to clean rooms. I hated that. People were always messy and didn’t care how they left the room after they left. I would come home tired. Barely on time to make dinner for my kids. I would smell my neighbors’ cooking as I walked into my apartment. I don’t know why, but that made me angry. I hated that smell. I didn’t have much time or energy to make food, so I just threw a frozen pizza in the oven.
One day I was scrolling through facebook and saw an advertisement from Texans for Immigration Reduction and Enforcement. I went on their web page and I read more about it “TFIRE is taking steps to help promote legislation in the State of Texas that will stop the flow of illegal immigration, systematically collect information on illegal alien use of taxpayer funded services, and help secure our Texas borders. We encourage all to attend our monthly meetings and learn what you can do to stop the unnecessary flow of illegal aliens into the United States.” (tfire inc.) I could not agree any better. They were taking our jobs. I thought if it wasn’t for them, I would have a better job and be living a better life. I could be living in a nicer apartment, or even a house. My kids would also be going to a better school and have a better education. I decided to go to one of the meetings.
To my surprise, there were a lot of people at the meeting. I noticed that there were people from my town there too. The meeting started and they explained how the group was founded. “The founder of TFIRE is J.C. Hernandez. He is a Mexican national who stood in line, learned English, jumped through all of the hoops, and became a legal American citizen. After all of the hassle he endured to become a legal citizen, the 1986 Amnesty Act became law. With the wave of a magic wand, three million illegal aliens were rewarded with American citizenship. How unfair!!! So Mr. Hernandez founded TFIRE in July of 1997.” (tfire inc.) They went on to talk about different topics and problems. I felt like I finally belonged somewhere. There were people like me. Struggling because of these illegal immigrants. I couldn’t help but think about the family that lived next door. They seemed to be living such a happy, easy life while I struggled to keep mine together. I kept going to the meetings for months. Going to those meetings made me have hope for my future.
Time passed. It was a friday afternoon in April, I was at work. My boss approached me. “I have bad news” he said. With the expression on his face, I knew what was coming. Once again, I was unemployed. I went home. I felt hopeless. As I got to my apartment I noticed my neighbor was sitting outside her apartment. She was crying. As much as I hated the situation they had put me in I wondered what she could be crying about. I remembered how I felt when my husband had left me. I didn’t have anybody there for me. I wouldn’t wish that pain on anybody else. And I don’t know why, but I decided to sit next to her. I asked her if she was okay. With her broken English, she told me that her mother had passed away in Mexico. Because of her immigration status, she was not able to visit her while she was sick, and now it was too late. I remember i felt my stomach drop. I could not imagine the pain she must have been going through. I started to cry.
I went back into my apartment and I laid in my bed thinking. I tried to put myself in the woman’s situation. It was so upsetting that she didn’t see her mother. She had the ability to, but she chose to stay here instead, for her family. She did it for her kids. I would do anything for my kids. I would even cross borders. Immigrants were not here to cause harm. They were here to look for a better life. It was not their fault that my life was so miserable. They worked hard to get what they have, and they tried to make the best of it. They’re people like me, and they share the same values I do. I felt terrible. I had been so angry at myself that I had transferred my hate onto someone else. I realized I had to work harder on myself in order to succeed.