Sarah and Aron
Sarah and Aron plan to get married soon. Until then, they are enjoying life as a young couple in Chicago. They are thinking of having children, but want to make sure that Aron can stay in the United States before they take that step.

Sarah recently completed two Bachelor’s degrees from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) – one in nursing, and another in Social Work. When I met her, she had only had her nursing license for a few days, and was looking for work. She had decided to take up nursing after working as a social worker, since she wanted more practical, useful skills that would allow her to contribute to the community. Ideally, she will find a job that permits her to work towards a more healthy community overall.

Aron began his studies at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) in fine arts. He completed five years of his eight-year degree in classical music. He came to the U.S. with the hope of finishing his degree, but has not been able to re-engage his studies. For now, he gives private music lessons. Since he was young, Aron has been enamored with artistry and decided to make a career out of it.

Sarah was born in a small town in Wisconsin – her high school class had fifty students in it. Her father sells tractors, and Sarah did not want to pursue farming for a living, so she decided to leave upon graduation from high school. She began her university studies at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and later decided she wanted to move to Chicago, and enrolled in UIC.

Aron is from a vibrant lower-middle class neighborhood in Mexico City, where most people do not migrate to the United States. Aron has only been in the United States for two years. He came to the U.S. to find a way to make enough money to continue his education. His sister and mother had been in the U.S. for about a year before he came.

When he was in Mexico, Aron imagined the United States would offer him many opportunities to earn money and to study. What surprised him most is, having everything you could want – a car, a house, furniture, clothes, food – it didn’t offer him as much satisfaction as he anticipated. As he put it, “when you have all of that stuff, you don’t know what to do. To me, the idea of having a car was something big. When you actually have one, though, nothing really changes.”  In addition to his realization that material items are not fulfilling, Aron has found that here in the U.S., he doesn’t have the option of continuing his schooling. He is determined, however, to find a way to reach his goals.

Aron met Sarah shortly after he arrived. Aron had befriended one of Sarah’s roommates, and they met at Sarah’s house in Pilsen. Sarah plays the piano, and they share an interest in classical music. Sarah and Aron came to Latinos Progresando to find out what their options for legalization were, if they were to get married. The legal services counselor told them that Aron faced the possibility of having to return to Mexico for ten years, were they to apply for his legalization on the basis of their marriage. They have the possibility for appeal, but there are no guarantees, and they have to be ready for Aron to return to Mexico if the appeal is not granted. If they decide to go through with the process, they will need a lawyer. For that, they need to save thousands of dollars.

For now, Aron is living without authorization in the United States and it affects most aspects of his life. Sarah said that Aron’s lack of rights has made her cognizant of the immense privileges that come along with legal status.             Aron pointed out that, were he to be deported to Mexico now, he doesn’t have anywhere to go. His mother and sister are here. He also doesn’t have enough savings to last long in Mexico.

Sarah said she wouldn’t mind working abroad. They both want to be ready to leave the U.S. if and when the time comes. And, they hope that they will be able to make the decision themselves, as opposed to having it made for them.