Courtesy of The New York Times
Reyna's story in The Distance Between Us is not the only story of greater opportunities and a greater life in the United States. Although there are many undocumented immigrants who are not as fortunate as Reyna, many have become fairly successful and are living the "American dream." The article, My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant, is one of those success stories.
In 1993, at age twelve, Jose Antonio Vargas boarded an airplane that took him all the way from his home in the Philippines to the United States. Once here, he lived with his grandmother and grandfather, thousands of miles away from his mother and siblings. After settling in California, Jose started sixth grade and instantly discovered his passion for language. He has now graduated high school and college, as well as launched a career for himself as a journalist. However, those achievements did not come easy. Every great journey involves overcoming bumps in the road. In the words of Jose, "he was living in a different kind of reality, in constant fear of being found out." Being an undocumented immigrant means you don't have the basic documents needed for simple tasks like obtaining a driver's license or applying for a job, which Jose soon found out for himself.
In order to get over to and stay in the United States, Jose used a fake name, a fake passport, a fake student visa, a fake Social Security number, and a fake green card and he learned that he had to be extremely careful when showing people the fake documents or they would find out that he was in the country illegally. When he first tried getting a driver's permit, the woman at the D.M.V. knew the green card was fake. He had to deny many trips outside of the country because he did not have a valid passport and did not want to raise any questions. He also had to turn down several internships he was offered because the companies needed paperwork he did not have. The biggest obstacle for Jose, though, was not the fact that he didn't have the right papers, it was the fact that he had fake ones. Using the fake documents made him feel insanely guilty. In fact, the guilt and fear of being found out often held him back from living his full American dream. Jose said himself, "he thought of himself American and considered American his country, but his country didn't think of him as one of its own." All Jose, along with the 11 million other undocumented immigrants, wanted and still want is to belong.
Reyna, too, was treated differently as an immigrant. Often times, she would separate herself from the crowd, or others would do that for her. She was put in a separate group at school when she first came to the United States because she couldn't speak English, and all she wanted was to be with the rest of the kids. She desperately wanted to belong in her new home.
When she was beginning college, Reyna finally realized that there was some good in being an immigrant an not always fitting in. With the help of Diana, she was introduced to Latin writers whom she could relate to. Those writers helped her realize that her stories were worth sharing. Years later, Reyna Grande has published several award-winning novels and has created a successful writing career for herself. Despite all of the struggle she went through in her first few years in the United States, she is living the American dream, proving that the Untied States can be a place of new beginnings and endless opportunities for immigrants if they choose to make it that way.
In 1993, at age twelve, Jose Antonio Vargas boarded an airplane that took him all the way from his home in the Philippines to the United States. Once here, he lived with his grandmother and grandfather, thousands of miles away from his mother and siblings. After settling in California, Jose started sixth grade and instantly discovered his passion for language. He has now graduated high school and college, as well as launched a career for himself as a journalist. However, those achievements did not come easy. Every great journey involves overcoming bumps in the road. In the words of Jose, "he was living in a different kind of reality, in constant fear of being found out." Being an undocumented immigrant means you don't have the basic documents needed for simple tasks like obtaining a driver's license or applying for a job, which Jose soon found out for himself.
In order to get over to and stay in the United States, Jose used a fake name, a fake passport, a fake student visa, a fake Social Security number, and a fake green card and he learned that he had to be extremely careful when showing people the fake documents or they would find out that he was in the country illegally. When he first tried getting a driver's permit, the woman at the D.M.V. knew the green card was fake. He had to deny many trips outside of the country because he did not have a valid passport and did not want to raise any questions. He also had to turn down several internships he was offered because the companies needed paperwork he did not have. The biggest obstacle for Jose, though, was not the fact that he didn't have the right papers, it was the fact that he had fake ones. Using the fake documents made him feel insanely guilty. In fact, the guilt and fear of being found out often held him back from living his full American dream. Jose said himself, "he thought of himself American and considered American his country, but his country didn't think of him as one of its own." All Jose, along with the 11 million other undocumented immigrants, wanted and still want is to belong.
Reyna, too, was treated differently as an immigrant. Often times, she would separate herself from the crowd, or others would do that for her. She was put in a separate group at school when she first came to the United States because she couldn't speak English, and all she wanted was to be with the rest of the kids. She desperately wanted to belong in her new home.
When she was beginning college, Reyna finally realized that there was some good in being an immigrant an not always fitting in. With the help of Diana, she was introduced to Latin writers whom she could relate to. Those writers helped her realize that her stories were worth sharing. Years later, Reyna Grande has published several award-winning novels and has created a successful writing career for herself. Despite all of the struggle she went through in her first few years in the United States, she is living the American dream, proving that the Untied States can be a place of new beginnings and endless opportunities for immigrants if they choose to make it that way.
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