Meredith and Alex
Meredith and Alex live in a quiet neighborhood just south of Chicago. They recently purchased a home, and have been working on fixing it up for the past few months. After having made several renovations to the inside, the warm summer months have allowed them to begin beautifying the outside of the house.

Meredith is in her early thirties. She grew up in a middle class neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, and attended a public school that was primarily black, but also had some Latinos and whites. Alex is in his late twenties. He was born in Leon, Mexico, a fairly large city in Guanajato. Many people from his neighborhood have emigrated. Alex came to the U.S. illegally in 2001. Alex’s brother had been in the U.S for four years already and agreed to pay for his passage. His roots go back farther, though, as Alex’s grandfather had been to the U.S. as a bracero in the mid-twentieth century.

Meredith and Alex work together at a bar not too far from where they live. Meredith is a bartender, while Alex is a bar back. In addition, Alex works as an electrician during the day, and Meredith is enrolled in graduate school, where she is working on her Ph.D. in Anthropology. Alex finished high school in Mexico. He also studied electricity, and enjoys exercising his profession here. He picked up the second job to earn more money. Meredith and Alex met at work about five years ago. They started going out about three years ago and were married in February 2008.

Alex and Meredith are planning to apply for Alex’s paper, although they know there is a risk involved. Since Alex crossed over illegally, he faces having to return to Mexico for ten years if he applies for legalization. However, he and Meredith may be eligible for a waiver. They will not find out until Alex returns to Mexico to apply for admission. The office in Juarez grants about 75 percent of these waivers, and denies the other 25 percent. They filed the family petition the day after they were married.

Meredith and Alex think they have a good chance of getting the waiver, as Alex has not gotten into trouble with the law apart from being arrested four times for driving without a license. His legal status prevents him from obtaining a license. It also works in his favor that he has not returned to Mexico since he has been here.

For now, Alex continues his life here as best he can. He faces certain challenges, though. For example, each time he has been arrested for driving without a license, he has been set back more than a thousand dollars. Meredith pointed out that being undocumented also means that Alex can’t get into a union job that would mean better pay and benefits. Their house and car are only in her name. She said that, overall, they have a good life, but there is always that underlying fear. When she hears on the radio that there has been a raid somewhere, she can’t help but be worried that something might have happened to Alex. In addition, she feels like she has to be prepared to move to Mexico at any time.

I asked Meredith if she would be able to pay for the house were Alex to be deported. She said she would not stay here if Alex were to be deported. She pointed out that she might be able to financially, but that she is not willing to be separated from her husband. Alex added that they would lose everything they have worked for if he were to be deported. “We would have to make very difficult decisions,” said Meredith.

Alex said that it would not be easy were they to move to Mexico. They would suffer financially. In Mexico, they would go to Leon where Alex’s parents live. Meredith said she would likely be able to find a job in tourism and Alex in a factory. But, the pay is minimal. Alex’s father, for example, works ten hours a day, six days a week, and earns about $100 a week. He depends on Alex’s and his brother’s remittances to supplement his income. Of course, Meredith would first have to arrange a work permit in Mexico.

Meredith and Alex would like to have children, and are thinking of doing so soon. They are waiting to be financially ready to have children, though, as Alex’s work has been somewhat sporadic lately. Whether or not they have children, though, Meredith refuses to be separated from her family.