Roxana
Executive Assistant
I am the daughter of immigrants, born in the U.S. but raised in Mexico from just a few weeks old. In 1999, my parents made the difficult choice to move to the U.S. when I was about seven, hoping to give my brother and me a shot at the so-called “American Dream.” I vividly remember that day—the sadness of leaving behind the place I sometimes call home. I was angry. Angry at my parents for uprooting me from my family, my friends, and the only world I had ever known.
My parents never hid their immigration status. Fear wasn’t how they lived. I grew up understanding what it meant to be undocumented and that it was nothing to be ashamed of. But there was one thing they shielded me from—what being undocumented truly meant in real life. That reality hit on December 15, 2011.
Early that morning, we got a call from Mexico. My grandfather had died in his sleep from a heart attack. Without thinking, I packed my bags and rushed to the living room, expecting my family to be ready to leave. But they weren’t. No one had packed. No one was moving. That’s when I understood. By 2011, cartels had taken over the Mexican side of the Rio Grande. If my father left to say his final goodbye, there was no guarantee he’d make it back alive.
At Houston Texas Immigration Lawyers, we understand the daily struggles, fears, and sacrifices families face. We are here to help.
For many years I had been angry at my parents for being selfish and taking me away from my home. It wasn’t until I saw my parents sitting in our living room discussing if it was worth going to my grandfather’s funeral that I realized that everything my parents had done up to that point had been a great sacrifice. After that winter, I knew that I owed it to my parents to do something — I honestly did not know what exactly that something looked like, but I did know that it would probably look something like an American Dream.
February of 2012 is when I started my journey as a community organizer and activist with a small student organization called Minority Affairs Council (MAC). Thanks to them I had the opportunity to work with undocumented youth led organizations at a local, state and national level. It was then I discovered that the way to help my parents and my community was by giving and being their voice. I learned that the power of the immigrant community came from their stories and struggles that they’ve faced in their journey coming to and living in the U.S.
Since February 2012, I have worked with many great organizations all over the country. I’ve met many immigrants and heard hundreds of stories and to this day those stories are the ones that have kept me in the movement. The Houston Texas Immigration Lawyers gave me the opportunity to work for them as their Client Outreach Specialist. I can say that so far I’ve had an amazing experience working at this Austin immigration law firm. My position has allowed me to listen to people’s stories and pass along their information to our family based immigration attorney, Kate, in preparation for her consultation with them. Due to a broken immigration system not every story leads to immigration relief, but those stories remind me that the fight is not close to being over. I will continue to fight for my community, and most importantly for my parents because I would not be the woman I am today if it weren’t for all the sacrifices they’ve made and I know that one day their story will end as an American Dream.
