Miguel González is training to be an electrician. He was born in Mexico but grew up and went to school between Glenwood Springs and New Castle, and he’s a DACA recipient.
In 2012, President Barack Obama started the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, giving undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children temporary protection from deportation and allowing them to work legally.
DACA holders can’t leave the United States, or else they risk losing their protections and being barred from reentering the U.S. for up to 10 years.
But in May, González and several other DACA recipients received a federal travel permit called “advance parole” to travel to Mexico City for a leadership program with Latino advocacy nonprofit Voces Unidas. The permit also helped González fulfill one requirement for his green card application, documenting his legal entry into the United States upon his return.
In this story, produced by Halle Zander, González recounts the benefits and challenges he faced growing up with DACA, how the trip could help him acquire a secure status, and how his perception of Mexico has changed.
You can listen to the story or read the following transcript.
Halle Zander: Miguel González was born four months premature.
Miguel González: I have my mom’s pictures and stories (of) how I can fit in their palm. I was in the incubator for about four months, five months. Then they told my mom, “Say goodbye, because he’s not going to survive.”
Zander: González’s family was looking down a long road of medical bills, unsure how much his care was going to cost.
So his parents decided heading to the U.S. was their best chance to make enough money to cover any unforeseen expenses.
González: So my dad actually came first, and me and my mom stayed. And then once my dad was there for about a month or two, that’s when he told my mom, “OK, I think you guys should come down here.”
The journey — my mom told me the stories, because it was just me and my mom. I was nine months (old). I was not even a year old. She was kind of blessed she had me, because they kind of treated her different than how they treated everyone else. She noticed that because she had me in her arms — it was raining, “I’ll give her an umbrella, but everyone else can suck it up.” Or like, “She can drive in the front, and everyone else, get in the back and pile up.”
Zander: Once the family was reunited, they started living in Glenwood Springs and then moved around a bit in the Colorado River Valley as González got older.
When he turned 15, his mother encouraged him to apply for DACA, a designation he didn’t quite understand, both how much it would help him, and how much it couldn’t.
As a high school senior, he realized he was still ineligible for a lot of financial aid.
González: I’ve always focused pretty well, because I want to go to college, and I kept my grades up and did really well and joined (the) National Honor Society and stuff. And I had all the requirements on the list except that U.S. citizen one. So I think that’s when it really hit me, the being undocumented part.
Zander: Despite losing out on these opportunities, González was still determined to go to college.
He began studying criminal justice at Colorado Mountain College.
González: And I was already applied and accepted into the police academy. This is something I’ve been wanting to pursue since I was little. I don’t know, ever since I was little, my main goal was (the) FBI. But I’m not going to go to work as a police officer because of my status. I still have it as, like, keeping as plan B. It’s not forgotten. So maybe if I get the opportunity to get my green card, I would definitely maybe pursue law enforcement.
Zander: But in order to get his green card, González needed a legal entry.
By leaving the country and returning, and having Customs inspect him, it checks one box, getting him closer to that secure status, which would allow him to pursue some of his big dreams, go back and get his degree, and even serve in law enforcement.
But more than an application requirement, the trip could help him paint a picture of Mexico — how his family lived and where he came from.
González: Being able to come back is just amazing, because I don’t really have an image of Mexico. I only have pictures. I only see what I see on TV, what I see on movies. So I have so many stereotypes I guess you can say, and finally get to experience a little taste of how it is.
Once I got into the flight and everything, I was nervous, for sure. It didn’t really hit me until I got off the plane when I was driving over here. Even though it’s not my hometown, my parents grew up in Mexico. This is kind of how — what they went through. And it’s (a) different lifestyle back in the United States compared to here. So it’s kind of heartwarming to see how my parents — what they went through, what they grew up with.
After the first night, I’m like, “OK, we’re here now. Let’s enjoy and worry about coming back later. Let’s have these few days and we have and worry about everything else on Tuesday when we head back to Denver.”
Zander: González spent the trip learning about U.S. trade and climate policies that impact migration — the bigger systems at play, and what economic forces his grandparents had to face while running the family farm.
But he also got to explore.
When González was young and sick, his extended family dreamed he could one day visit a special church in Mexico City.
González: Basílica de Guadalupe — that’s where she wants me to go visit, because it goes back to when I was born. My grandma and my uncles were like, “He’s going to make it through. He’s going to fight it, and he’s going to be able to go visit that place when he grows up.” It’s crazy to me that I’m here now, and I’m almost there to go visit that place.
Zander: Back at the airport, when it was time to return to Colorado, González could sense some of his friends on the trip were nervous about whether or not they’d be able to reenter the U.S.
So González is cracking jokes, trying to keep the mood light, but he’s dealing with his own feelings about returning home.
González: I was kind of sad, because I didn’t want to come back. I just had a really negative mentality about Mexico. Now that I was over there, it opened my eyes.
Zander: They all get home safely, and back in Colorado, González doesn’t skip a beat.
He goes back to working 16-hour days as an apprentice lineman, learning to be an electrician.
He gets his work ethic from his parents, who are running a farm while also working other jobs.
González: My dad, after a long day of work, he’s with the horses 24/7. For me, that’s really heartwarming, because he’s doing what he loves, and I get to experience it with him. It makes me push myself, work twice as hard as he did, to be able to have what I want. When I’m at work or something, I’m like, “Oh, I’m tired of this.” But I think back, and I’m like, “My dad did it. I can do it, too.”
Zander: Now González is one step closer to getting his green card, and he’s not planning on wasting much time.
He seems giddy about what he could do with that status.
González: Now coming back, having my legal entry, there’s more possibilities for me to get my green card and stuff. If I were to be able to get my green card one day, it would be an awesome opportunity. And I would want to go back to my hometown where I was born and actually have an image myself of how it is.
Editor’s Note: This is the second story in a three-part series documenting the journeys of DACA recipients in Mexico and how the trips could change their lives in the Colorado River Valley. The third story follows Alan Muñoz, who organized the trip as a DACA recipient himself and reconnected with extended family for the first time in decades.
