José’s story: A long way from home

Amazed by the differences between his current school and those he left behind, José* gazed upon the grandeur of the new high school campus and reflected upon how his life had changed so drastically in the past few months. 

With only a rudimentary understanding of English, attending a new high school was a feat in itself. However, it was nothing compared to the sacrifice and hardship he endured during his journey to reach the U.S. in search of opportunity and financial freedom. 

Born to a single mother in the oil-rich municipality of La Libertad, Guatemala, soccer and socializing were José’s two favorite pastimes. With 10 siblings and a neighborhood full of energetic youth, there was an abundance of company to keep him entertained. 

However, during his time at school, the thirst for knowledge and learning escaped the young boy. Unmotivated and lacking a support system, his studies became a lower priority. 

Notwithstanding the relative placidity present in his surrounding community, fundamental threats to the stability of Guatemala remained omnipresent. Reports of cartel violence were the main topics of discussion on local news channels, and incendiary headlines concerning the cartels were plastered along the sides of town newsstands.

“Almost every day, we heard of someone getting mugged. It could have been for a multitude of reasons; they could have a new car or a lot of money, and that made them a target for the cartels,” José said. 

As local cartels began to recruit younger people to join their ranks, the idea of joining one was eschewed by many and thought to be a risk not worth taking.

José said, “[None of us] had siblings, close friends, or cousins who participated in cartel activities. We were normal, but those that joined the cartels, they changed for the worse.”

Cartels were unable to reach the youth at José’s school. However, other recruitment methods abounded, and “the streets” evolved into the primary medium by which gangs lured prospective members. 

José said, “[Cartels] did not have a presence at my school. They only worked in the streets, under the cover of darkness.”

According to José, jobs in Guatemala were widely available, but meager wages and dismal working conditions ensured that families remained impecunious, preventing social mobility.

 “[To earn a lot of money], you needed to have a good education or have gone to university, but many, to this day, don’t have that opportunity,” José said.

This lack of earning potential had a greater effect upon José than he could have imagined. José’s father, a fastidious laborer and stalwart supporter of the local community, immigrated to the U.S. a few months before José’s birth. Leaving José and his siblings in the care of José’s mother, his father set out towards the U.S.-Mexico border. 

After a perilous journey through Mexico, José’s father crossed the U.S.-Mexico border. He bounced around the American Southwest, picking up odd jobs before making his way to the Bay Area and establishing a solid foundation upon which he could support his family back in Guatemala, first, with carefully-sealed envelopes filled with sundry denominations, and later, via bank transfer. 

One of José’s sisters and one of his brothers followed suit shortly thereafter, leaving José with a smaller nuclear family and deep gratitude for his father’s actions.

“[My dad] came [to the United States] with the purpose of giving us a better life in Guatemala, and for that, I am forever grateful,” José said.

For an impressionable youth, never having the chance to meet his father took an emotional toll. Nights spent wide awake, José dreamed of his father and the defining moments of his childhood they were never able to share. He yearned for the chance to play soccer with his father, to drive down the gravel path near their home together, yet those opportunities never came.

“He was my father, yet I never was able to grow up with him beside me. I wanted to meet him; find out who he was,” José said.

Among other factors, economic incentives were a driving force behind the family’s decision to immigrate to the U.S. With visions of prosperity and financial stability, a reunion with family members, and the prospect of meeting his father, the allure proved too great for José to ignore.

In early 2019, José, one of his cousins, and his uncle uprooted their life in Guatemala and set out to join José’s father and other members of the family in the U.S.