In 1994, Vicente Mayorga and his wife first arrived to the United States from Ecuador in search of better job opportunities. His story resembled that of many people in the United States today, he had entered the country illegally.
Today, Mayorga works as a community organizer at Make the Road New York, an organization dedicated to community rights in Jackson Heights, Queens. In this capacity, he serves the same people he was once a part of.
“One of my advantages was my experience in the immigration system. I personally know what it is like to be undocumented, I understand that pain and I learned how to give people hope,” said Mayorga. “I learned how to help people by assuming the roles of a social worker and a counselor.”
Since his arrival to the United States, Mayorga underwent the experiences of being undocumented. Although he graduated with a degree in business administration and accounting in Ecuador, Mayorga worked numerous jobs similar to many undocumented residents and learned the difficulties they faced.
“Since I didn’t understand how the law functioned, the injustice, maltreatment, discrimination, and exploitation that I lived as an immigrant motivated me to become involved in organizations to learn how the system functioned, what the laws were, what our rights are whether you’re documented or undocumented, and what kind of protection we have,” said Mayorga.
These experiences led Mayorga to be involved in Make the Road New York, where he serves approximately 100 people seeking immigration consultation per week.
Currently, illegal immigration continues to be a debated issue in the United States between those who support an immigration reform that would provide the legalization of those living undocumented in the country and those who oppose it. In particular, this issue has been significantly present in the 2016 presidential election, in which candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have offered contrast approaches and solutions.
Mayorga, who has been closely following the election, explained both candidates have their own problems.
“Hillary Clinton has stated in that her first 100 days she will work towards immigration reform. Obama said the same thing. He said in the first 100 days there would be immigration reform. His two terms have culminated with the highest level of deportations, which his administration was involved in. He was called deporter in chief. Now we have Clinton who is making the same promise,” said Mayorga.
He also expressed criticism towards Donald Trump due to his negative approach to illegal immigrants, which he views as a reversal of social progress in the United States.
“If we are the leader of democracy in the world and someone like Donald Trump becomes president it would be a setback to previous periods of intolerance, threats, and abuse that the United States already surpassed,” said Mayorga.
Mayorga stated the actions Trump wants to take would be harmful towards illegal immigrants who already deal with issues such as high rates of deportation. According to the Mayorga, these attitudes are harmful toward families that are separated as a result. Although he was never deported, Mayorga personally felt the impact of being separated from his two sons, who were children when he left and were adults when he returned.
“My wife and I came here and we had to leave our children in our country and we saw them again 13 years later,” said Mayorga. “There is an emptiness that remains in the existence of our family that can never be recovered.”
Initially, Mayorga was having difficulty finding work in Ecuador even with his degree. The lack of a financial income ultimately led him to leave his country. According to Mayorga, this is an issue that many illegal immigrants find themselves in and is the reason they are forced to leave their homes and families behind.
Although Mayorga and his wife were able to attain their residency through a family petition in March 2007, he explained seeing his sons again was a mix of guilt and happiness because of the time they all missed together.
“It is outrageous that these laws allow families to suffer because that separation is indescribable,” said Mayorga.
Despite working with undocumented immigrants, Mayorga stated he does not feel the people he works with will be affected in adverse ways from the results of the election. Instead, he feels his work will be more impacted by the stance they will take towards either candidate if they become president.
“One side promises to hurt us and we won’t allow it. The other side is promising relief so we need to make sure they keep their promise,” said Mayorga.
Mayorga stated he does not believe Trump will go through with his immigration policies if he is elected president. According to the people he interacts with, they don’t plan on voting for him and those who can’t vote don’t fear him. He added that the community would quickly respond if he were elected and attempted to implement his proposals.
“We would be willing to go on the streets to tell him it’s not going to happen. It is through peaceful demonstrations that we are able to achieve change,” said Mayorga.
In regards to Clinton, he stated she has to be held accountable for her promise to provide immigration reform and the community needs to work to ensure she keeps it if she is elected.
“There is a bit of hope with Hillary Clinton. If I had to choose between the two, the lesser of evils is Clinton,” said Mayorga.
Regardless of the elected candidate, Mayorga maintained the most important aspect was bringing about immigration reform in the United States.
“There should be a change in immigration laws that incorporates legalization for all, a path to citizenship, and protection at the border without violating human rights,” said Mayorga. “Human mobility should be eased. It isn’t justifiable that capital and goods can move freely and human beings can’t.”