By MIKE
ARGENTO
Brijido Gonzalez first came to the United States about 14 years ago.
He crossed over into California and found work in the fields. It was hard, dirty work. “Nasty� is the word he used to describe the back-breaking labor that puts lettuce and grapes and oranges on American tables. He worked seven days a week, often at least 10 hours a day, for wages that many would consider barely adequate. He didn’t make much money, but he made a lot more than he could in Mexico.
He is from Mexico City, a huge, crowded, dangerous city. He wanted a better life for his family, his children, so he made the trek to the land of opportunity.
The land of opportunity sent him back.
He came back again, taking work in the fields and in restaurants in southern California. He worked wherever he could, for whatever wage he could earn.
And he was sent back again.
He came here a few times before he got to stay.
That came when a friend told him about his brother who was working for a Mexican family at a restaurant in Roanoke, Va.
Brijido came east and went to work for the family.
He’s been with them ever since.
Today, he manages the El Rodeo Mexican restaurant on Route 30 — owned by the daughter of the people who own the restaurant in Roanoke and her husband. They are Monica and Jose Trejo. Monica’s family immigrated years ago and worked in the fields in California and as migrant farm workers and itinerant restaurant workers. They worked hard and saved their money, and today, Monica and Jose own eight restaurants in central Pennsylvania.
And to Brijido, that’s what the immigration debate is all about — the American dream.
“We crossed the border without papers, and we worked in the fields and in the restaurants,� he said. “We came here for opportunity.�
He knows dozens of people just like himself — dozens of people who took the incredible risk to come here illegally to find work, to have a chance to get ahead, to try to get part of that American dream they’ve all heard about.
And that’s what seems to be lost in the debate over immigration, the latest of the issues that divide this country and turn our elected officials into blithering, pandering idiots. While it is true that immigrants can come from any other nation, it’s Mexico that’s attracted all of the attention in this debate. Nobody’s talking about building a giant wall along the Canadian border. The vigilante group, the Minutemen, didn’t organize to protect us from Norwegian immigrants. Bigots and morons don’t bloviate about those lazy, shiftless Finns who pour across our border to get welfare and free health care, while translating our national anthem into Finnish.
For those trying to rouse the rabble, it’s very convenient to put a Spanish accent on the debate.
The people who come here are coming here for one thing — a chance, the same reason other immigrants came here. My grandparents, your grandparents, they came here for a shot at a better life for us.
And that’s why Brijido left his family in Mexico City and came here.
His wife, Mercedes Martinez, and two kids, 2½-year-old Briana and 12-year-old Joel, still live in Mexico City. He goes back to visit whenever he can, and those are some of the best times of his life. He says being with his family is always joyous, and he feels sad when he returns here to work.
But that’s what he has to do.
He sends them money and is working toward the day, after he becomes a U.S. citizen, that he can bring them here.
“I do it for my children,� he said.
He does it so his kids can have a better life.
He hears what people say about Mexicans coming here and taking from this country. It’s not fair, he said.
“We come here for opportunity,� he said. “We come here to work.�
They don’t want anything handed to them. All they want is a fair shake.
They can’t get that in Mexico, where a small percentage of people own all of the property and have all of the wealth and power. A good wage for a working person in Mexico is 400 to 500 pesos a week. That’s about $40 to $50. After rent and groceries, there’s not much left. Owning a home, sending a kid to college, having your own business — those things are dreams.
On Monday, Brijido went downtown with four guys he works with to demonstrate for immigrant rights. (The restaurant stayed open and, for reasons Brijido can’t explain, had a busy day, busier than normal for a Monday.)
Monday, he said, “was a historic day. (Monday) was a big day. And more good days are coming.�
He’s thankful, in a way, for the Minutemen, the vigilantes who patrol the Mexican border. And he’s thankful for those who demean his people. Despite their ignorance, they have served a purpose, he said.
“They’ve awakened a sleeping giant,� he said. “Yesterday showed the power of the immigrant people.�
Right now, Brijido has resident status and is working toward citizenship. Like a lot of others who came here seeking opportunity — the Irish, the Italians, others — he loves America.
“America gave me a big part of my life,� he said. “They gave me work. They gave me a chance. They opened the door for me. I am so grateful to America.�
Mike Argento, whose column appears Mondays and Thursdays in Living and Sundays in Viewpoints, can be reached at 771-2046 or at mike@ydr.com.
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