Mennonite Central Committee

I left El Salvador during the civil war in 1988. I had to leave the violence, and was uncertain of the future. I left at 17.

A coyote told me that it would cost $2,000, but I only had $1,000. He agreed to take me. We left El Salvador early in the morning, and crossed into Guatemala at 11am. There were 30 of us.

In Chihuahua, Mexico, the coyote separated me and another woman with her child from the others. They took us to a different hotel from the rest of the group. Then they separated me from the woman and child. The coyote told me that I had to sleep with him in order for me to pay off the $1,000.

I had never been to Mexico. I had to do it.

The next day, another coyote took us to the border. We spent 3 nights in the desert. It was very difficult. It was very dark.

I asked myself “why did I do this?” It would have been better if I died in the war.

We waited for 2 weeks on the border in Texas as Border Patrol was heavy. We crawled under electric fences. A van took us to Arizona, and we saw coyote who had taken advantage of me again. He told me he would take me to Los Angeles to live with his relatives and that he would visit me every month. He told me that I did not need to pay the rest of the $1,000.

Luckily, I was able to make a phone call to a friend. My friend met me at the airport in LA, and we escaped as the coyote turned his back to us to collect baggage.

I would not walk [through the desert] again, even if someone told me there was gold here. I would not want to play with my life. I am here, and I am not leaving. This is a sad story, but it is the reality of what happens.

Isabel is 37 years old. She lived in the United States for 12 years without legal documentation. In 2002, when Hurricane Mitch hit her home country, she was able to apply for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). She is now able to work temporarily. She has 3 daughters born in the United States.