Not me, Kelvin Villanueva. He is featured in The Deported, an article in today's New York Times Magazine. An undocumented immigrant, he came to the US to escape the gangland of San Pedro Sula, Honduras, the city with the world's highest homicide rate.
During his 15 years in the US he had married, adopted his wife's two children and had two children with her. He had risen to become a supervisor of a carpentry crew, and had paid taxes throughout. One night, returning after a 14-hour workday, he was pulled over for a broken taillight.
With no papers, he was imprisoned, and eventually sent back to San Pedro Sula. His wife is now a single parent of 4 children. Kelvin has exhausted his savings exploring every legal means to reunite with his family. His best option now is to try another cross-border trip to the north.
A broken taillight. A broken system.
During his 15 years in the US he had married, adopted his wife's two children and had two children with her. He had risen to become a supervisor of a carpentry crew, and had paid taxes throughout. One night, returning after a 14-hour workday, he was pulled over for a broken taillight.
With no papers, he was imprisoned, and eventually sent back to San Pedro Sula. His wife is now a single parent of 4 children. Kelvin has exhausted his savings exploring every legal means to reunite with his family. His best option now is to try another cross-border trip to the north.
A broken taillight. A broken system.