On March 26, 1952, Camerina Colmenares was born in Mexico City, Mexico. Her childhood was than the childhoods of kids today. Daily life consisted of going to school in the morning then making dinner for her siblings and her once she got home. Not only so, but she would have to clean and do the laundry when it was needed. If she failed to finish her chores, she would receive a big whooping. Being pregnant at the time of her crossing, her mother, who was an American citizen, urged Camerina to move to the US so her children could become US citizens.

With the urging of her mother and the words of a man of, "If you give birth in the US, {your children} will become American citizens," ringing in her head, Camerina began her journey. 

As Camerina was pregnant at the time, Camerina would receive the compassion of others, making her experience crossing the border much easier compared to others. When she was in need of help, others trying to cross would sometimes have food and would be generous enough to give some to Camerina. However,even with the extra help given to her due to her pregnancy, the journey was still not easy, as she wasn't aware of the strict laws that were in place at the time. Not only so, but another problem she faced was one regarding to the citizenship of her two sons. As they were already of age and were not born in the US, they did not qualify for citizenship. As a result of this, they were left behind in Tijuana. 

Despite the struggles, Camerina eventually entered the US with the use of a fake ID on November 11, 1972, reuniting with her husband. Who had allegedly entered the US through the woods guided by a "coyote". Following their arrival in the US were financial issues, to combat this, the two worked hard daily. However, the guilt of leaving her two sons behind weighed Camerina down, causing her to go back to Tijuana for her sons after giving birth. With the help of her fake ID, she was able to be reunited with her two sons. After returning with her sons, Camerina moved in with her mother's friend's house, working in the fields, picking strawberries, for a couple of months. After those months of hardship were over, Camerina was able to buy a house, and have five more children.

"In this house, we have 44 years down, a lifetime to go," she says. 

Anni Zhao

Hello there, I am Anni, I wrote some of this article, yes I did. I am 13 and am an 8th grader at Alvarado Intermediate. I was born in California and have remained in California for the majority of my 13 years of existence. I have 2 brothers (technically, one is my half brother), one I talk to often, while talking to the other often results in an awkward silence. I tend to sleep a lot, I believe longest I've slept is around 16 hours, it was great. Although some think my favorite animal is a duck, it's not, it's an alpaca. My goal for my remaining years in school is to get a good GPA. That's it and that's all. 

I believe that it's important for one to hear the stories of immigrants as it can create a better understanding between people. Their story can help clear up the misunderstandings and myths about immigration. Assumptions about a group of people can create misconceptions that can be cleared when one knows the story of another. An example of this can be the myth about how immigrants are dangerous, knowing the story from the side of an immigrant would most likely show that they aren't dangerous and they don't want to do anything that would result in them getting deported. You'll learn that they most likely only wanted to escape danger or that America was just seen as a more favorable area to live in compared to where they once resided.

Bianca Colmenares

Hi my name is Bianca Colmenares I am 14 years old, and I go to Alvarado Intermediate School. I have a mom & a dad 2 older sisters and a younger brother the person I interviewed about is my grandma she is such an amazing person she is the most bravest, strongest, beautiful, and sometimes even most scariest person you will ever meet. When my grandma told me her story of how to she came to the U.S I was shocked because I feel that immigration is in my blood not only did my grandma come illegally, but so did my mom so I feel that immigration is part of me it's like in my blood. This is my dad's mom and I can see that my dad got a lot of my grandma. My grandma name is Camerina Colmenares she is 67 years old she has been married to my grandpa for 50 years. She has 8 kids she had 2 of them in Mexico and 6 of them here in the U.S.

 I feel like immigration shaped America by if you have someone that immigrated to the U.S and you found out about it you feel like immigration is part of you, it also shows that immigration is no joke like people really are living in the U.S illegally and for me that is just crazy. I think it is important to hear people immigration stories because if you are judging that person you should not because you never know what they have been through like what if they almost died coming to the U.S, also you look at them differently but a good different you think of that person being brave and confident and strong. I learned that immigrants are very important because they are the ones who came illegally like they matter in life. Some of the skills I used was to learn how to take pictures, and me and my partner did a lot of research. I learned that my grandma is even braver than I thought I knew she was brave but now I she is like braver than all the men that I know in my life. I also learned she left a lot things behind in Mexico especially her family she had to leave 2 of her kids in TJ just to get across by herself to come to the U.S.