English transcription of video:
My name is Miguel Acosta. I’m 41-years old. I come from the state of Sinaloa, Mexico. My life in Mexico was very difficult because we are 12 siblings; 5 men and 7 women. My parents lived a very difficult life in order to be able to provide for us. I never thought that when I grew up it would be even more difficult to study, to get a job. My older brother came to the U.S. and I stayed, missing him.
Afterwards, I grew up. I got into high school. He would invite me over here, but I didn’t want to come. When he married, I came to his wedding and I liked it. I liked living here, and I stayed. But I stayed illegally, and to this day we’re still in that situation. I continue missing my parents because they rarely come over here.
I have many years without seeing my siblings. My brother and I support one another here, but even so it’s difficult because of jobs, and everyone one hears about immigration. It frightens you. Since I already have my family here, my wife and kids, you feel like something is going to happen to you and you’re going to leave your kids, and how are they going to live? You’re not going to see them again. Or how are they going to succeed in school? Who’s going to provide for them? Like many of us, I think it’s difficult in these moments for something like that to happen to us.
But the most important thing is that there exists a community that supports us. And among all of us I think we can make a difference and get some benefit from this new movement we’re creating. In reality, I like the lifestyle here in the U.S. I’ve never had thoughts like, why did I come here? I want to go back already. I’m making my life here; looking for the American dream. The American dream, which isn’t necessarily to have documentation, but to be someone, to be someone more. To provide… I don’t know… to be someone for the community. To be able to support your kids; for them to see… to be… to study, for them to prepare themselves, and be able to provide something to the country as well. And make them see our story, of how much we’ve suffered.
Where specifically jobs and language are obstacles that get you down, that stop you. But slowly you start realizing that there are very good opportunities, and when you have a wish, when you have a goal, I think that you can achieve it and be much more than that. You can achieve great things. In reality, I like it here. I like it. I accept it like my country because my kids are here. I’ve lived here for almost 20 years. I feel very comfortable living in this country, and that’s why I want to get involved, so that I can contribute more to the community, to the country, and succeed.
The first time I came here was to San Jose. I felt strange because everything was very different, but slowly I started to adapt. One of the strongest obstacles I faced was employment. I found a job cleaning at some movie theaters in San Jose, but my brother had to take me at 2AM. Another obstacle was language. I was afraid to speak. I went to school for 8 months. I took English classes, and I felt a bit more comfortable.