You're Number 300 Million

‘’You’re number 300 Million, Who are you ? Why are you here, in the USA today ? ‘’ the reporter asked.

‘’My name is Miguel Alvarez, I used to live in Mexico... I left my wife and kids, my sick mother to come here…’’ the Mexican man said.

‘’All of your people come here, why would you even come here ? There’s no work for all of you… Why would you leave your family ? ‘’ the bold journalist asked.

‘’Do you have kids ?! I didn’t want to, I had to ! I didn’t earn a lot of money there, I couldn’t afford my mama’s medication, I couldn’t afford good school for my children. So I had to come here in order to figure it out. I send them, in Mexico, almost twice the money we had when I worked there.. and I save a lot ! I want my children to a better education… a real education, and to be honest, I want them to be happy, to live the American dream. Even if my work here is not well paid, if it’s dangerous and If I should probably earn more money with my former job, you know, I had my own building company back in the country, we weren’t rich but we didn’t complain. Here, I’m not even at the bottom of the ladder, I work for white people, I’m not like them, and I can’t complain, because I’d be fired and they’d replace me with a cheaper worker, I can’t let that happeend, I need my job. I have to fight for my kids future.’’

‘’You’re probably their hero ! What is it like, crossing the border ? I mean you’re a legal imigrant, how did you feel ? ‘’

‘’I felt free, a lot of my friends came here illegally, their travel here was very difficult, and dangerous. They paid a lot to come here, probably to some mexican cartel..

And they weren’t even sure to cross the border. I have the American nationality now, I don’t have to be afraid to be caught, I’m free, I’m American and my kids will soon be Americans too and for the first time in my life I feel safe and happy. I think this is why we all came here, to find safeness and happiness. ‘’

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