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Striving for a better life in the land of the free

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  • Gabe Semenza •
  • Originally published July 27, 2008 at 8:29 p.m., updated July 27, 2008 at 8:29 p.m.

Most immigrants come illegally to the United States for the same reasons you would, and it’s time more Americans empathize.

“Try to put yourself in our position. I’m trying to make something for my family,” said Julio Lopez, a 27-year-old illegal immigrant living in Houston.

Lopez didn’t risk his life so that he can steal from you and burden this country. He came here seven years ago to offer a better life to his family, which includes three children.

Lopez swam the swift Rio Grande River near Brownsville. “We both almost died right there.”

He ran through the rough countryside. “There were lots of trees and snakes, the kind that go ts-ts-ts-ts.”

He dodged U.S. Border Patrol agents. “We hid in the bushes.”

And before smugglers drove him to Houston inside a horse trailer, they stuffed him inside a cramped trailer home. “There was 200 people right there. Between women and children, they stacked us up like boxes.”

Now, Lopez is married to an American citizen. He owns a business – a residential and commercial power washing company in Houston.

“Back in Mexico, you couldn’t have this,” he said.

Lopez, like so many others, is a productive member of society who does the jobs you might not want to.

He doesn’t ask for handouts and freebies. All he wants is the chance for work, inalienable rights that you were born into.

Lopez remembers the immigration tragedy of May 14, 2003. He knows the risks the 19 who died took when sneaking into the country.

“They tried to come here just like me, but they just didn’t make it,” Lopez said.

He can’t imagine what it must have felt for one of the immigrants who died – a father – to hold his child inside the trailer as the boy died.

“That broke your heart big time,” he said. “It hurt real bad.”

To honor the dead immigrants, Lopez placed religious paintings at the site of the tragedy just two months ago, the fifth anniversary.

“I am not a bad person. I just want a better life,” he said.



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Comments

  • justme justme Report a ViolationReport a Violation Permalink  | 

    There is nothing wrong with striving for a better life but there is something wrong with not following our laws. People today like to follow the laws that do not inconvenience them but feel that any law that does inconvenience them can be ignored. If you wish to come to the US that is fine. There are procedures that should be followed. To come here illegally and then claim you just want to be a law-abiding citizen is called hypocrisy. While there are still many injustices in our country, following the immigration laws is not one of them. If you wish to be part of our country, you can start by following all of our laws and not just those that are convenient. Just for the record, for anyone that might conclude differently, I am of hispanic descent and am proud of my heritage, but I also believe in following the laws of my country.

    July 29, 2008 at 7:02 a.m.