My Immigration Story
- Jennifer Vazquez
- Califronia
- UNITED STATES
- 17
My name is Jennifer and my parents are Jose and Maria Vazquez. Im their oldest daughter. When my family immigrated to the United States i wasn't born yet. In fact i wasn't a planned baby. In 1970, my mother was the first one in her family to come to the United States. Immigration back then wasn't a big deal like today. The only reason she made it here was because my grandpa (her father) used his Visa to let her in. They both came together in an airplane.
My father's story is completely different, but he was already in the United States when my mom arrived. When he first got here he was 18 years old. The main reason they both decided to immigrate was because of the economy in Mexico (Zacatecas and Durango). It was all because of the new governor and many prices of certain things got higher than before. Many people went homeless because of the neccesity of jobs. Having money those days was a huge necessity like today of course. When my mother arrived to the United States she went looking for a job. She applied to a job and a week later she received a call telling her she had been accepted. Having a Social Security cardback then wasn't a big deal either.
That's where my parents met, at that job. They both got payed the minimum, but a few weeks later their manager/supervisor loved how my mom did her job so he raised her salary. The outcome of my mom's journey was that she has a completely better life and is happy. When she received her paycheck, she always sent money to Mexico for her mother. My mom kept telling her mom to come over here, but her mother didn't want to. But in the end she did. Well my mom's whole family immigrated to the United States for a better future and now they have been successful. My uncles and aunt got married and have a child or two.