Leaving the Home Country
When interviewing Ibelia, it was quite apparent that the decision to leave one's home country and venture to potentially hostile parts of the world is not easy for any immigrant to come to. In the case of most Ecuadorian immigrants, as Ibelia said "There is no money. My brother only earned six hundred dollars a month, Which is normal for men who finish university. If they do not finish university, they will only earn about one hundred and fifty dollars a month." Such low wages make it very difficult for most people to survive off of their own wages. I was told by Ibelia that it is because of these low wages that many families will make the difficult decision to send one of its members to a country such as America to get a job and send back money in order to help support the financial needs of the entire family. In Ibelia's case, her father illegally immigrated to America and sent back money. At some point the financial needs of the family cost more than he could send back, at which time, Ibelia, as the oldest child, decided go to America to also help support the family.
Crossing the Border.
The crossing of the Mexican-American border is in no way easy, the government makes sure of that. Between fences, deserts, rivers, wild animals, and border control, immigrants are constantly faced with dangers. As I was told by Ibelia, these dangers deter all but the most desperate and the most determined. She also told me that when crossing the border, many people choose to take longer routes in order to enter into more rural areas where there is a lower risk of being caught. Ibelia's father made the decision to take the longer route when crossing the border, and it took him roughly 20 days of walking before he found a town. One of Ibelia's friends decided to take another approach and hid in the back of a car that was crossing the border. When doing so, her friend had an animal pelt thrown over her in order to deter the border control from looking under the pelt. The pelt was allowed to putrefy in the sun before the three day long journey. Many people decide to take an easier approach to the act of illegally immigrating, and merely over stay their visas such as the case of Ibelia's brother. For the desperate people who are unable to obtain a visa, the treacherous crossing is the only option. Each of these approaches comes with risks. Many undocumented immigrants share their stories with each other in order to help others make better decisions about how to prepare for the journey and what the risks will be, and what the expect when they get here. They may pass along information about routes, safe spots, necessary supplies, costs, and hazards to watch for. Many immigrants actually die in the attempt to cross the border.