Emmett Turn
Professor Reynolds
Interview Log
10/22/16
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Introduce yourself tell us a little about you? Victor was born in Guatemala graduated from providence public school. Came to the United States when he was 6. For 16 years of his life in America Victor was undocumented most of his friends did not know he was undocumented. After high school his friends applied to colleges but he could not go because of his citizenship status. He was told in the ninth grade that he would be unable to attend college. This deterred him from focusing on his studies in high school and he felt like he was in a hopeless situation. In 2012 Victor's family got a call to go see a judge in Boston about their citizenship status. Victor attended CCRI and graduated high honors as an undocumented student and transferred Rhode Island College and graduated from there as well. Victor is a first generation student. Victor believes in god and at one point in college he finds himself asking god why he point him in the situation where all his friends are buying cars, shopping for their dorm room, and getting their licence and he could not do any of that. He felt like he was being punished for nothing. Victor's mother wanted him to get a good education. Victor proves the phrase wrong that undocumented students don't pay taxes because his mother paid taxes and used her tax returns for victors out of state tuition at CCRI. Victor is aware of the privileges in his life and he is very thankful for his mother.
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The next question was how were you able to attend CCRI while being undocumented. He explained that the policy is that if you are a undocumented student you can pay in state tuition. The change from not having citizenship and having citizenship was receiving a pell grant from the government. All members of his family had to pitch in to pay for his tuition before he was a citizen. Victor was also only a part time student at the time only taking about 3 classes at CCRI. He felt greater distance growing between him and his peers although he was happy he was still in school.
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We read in the bio that you would like to go to law school and become an immigration lawyer is that still a goal you have in mind? He still wants to help out the undocumented community. Although he is unable to afford law school right now and he can not burden his parents with that money expense. He also has figured out that he may be able to help the undocumented community without going to law school. He doesn't see law school in his near future.
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What do you do now in your new position? He said he used to be deputy director of communications he is now the press secretary for the mayor. Victor is in charge of a lot of media aspects so he answers questions of the media and contacts them with the correct people. Victor prepares statements for the mayor. Also his job entails social media updates and speeches at certain events.
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Can you tell us about your background and Guatemala? He grew up in a small town in a house made out of a mud material. His parents went to the U.S and sent money back so he remembers not having toys for the first four years in Guatemala but his last two years there he had toys. Victor does not remember the hardships as much but his mother remembers and she tells him about it now. Victor was not aware of Guatemala's 36 year civil war until he was in college. Victor's mother would talk about their uncle leaving before her for some reason and she would hear bombs go off or shootings near her work. Victor's mother was an orphan and she was able to escape that life by working in the coffee plantations in the mountains, she only got an education up until fourth grade. They were facing starvation and Victor's father left his family for the U.S when Victor was 1 or 2 and he has not heard much of anything from him. His mother told his aunt to bring him over and he remembers saying bye to his friends and getting on a bus and getting in a raft and floating across the Rio Grande. He remembers jumping on the rafts for fun as a six year old and he remembers crossing the border at night. Hiding from people they thought would hurt them because of stories of people being captured. He was lucky enough to be around people that cared about him and during the journey he stepped on a cactus and he couldn't walk. Instead of leaving him they carried him. They crossed more borders and hid under box trucks and in people's farms. As a kid he did not understand why he was doing all of this he took it as an adventure and not seeing the seriousness of the situation. Then from Texas he took a plane to providence. He arrived in province in February and he remembers seeing his mom for the first time in the U.S and it was the same night he saw snow for the first time. Friends of theirs in Providence dropped them at Victor's mother's because she did not know they were in the city. He remembers seeing his brothers toys and how many he had he organized all of them before he went to bed and he wanted to make sure no one would take his toys. He was glad to be in the apartment in Providence.
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Do you have any objects or photos you hold close to you from back home? Victor likes to keep his culture in tact, he purchased a wooden bull from Guatemala. He visited the town very close to where he lived. He thought it represented the hustle of his people and it was homemade. When he paid for the bull the man fed his kids in the restaurant that Victor was in. That reminded Victor of how his parents helped him. He loves the values his mom has and how selflessness she has and he is proud of his hardworking and community oriented culture.
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What are you mom and two brothers up too. His younger brother is finishing up his degree at URI and his other younger brother is at central high school. One of them is into Biology and the one in high school is into business. Undocumented people don't really get to retire in most cases. He feels an obligation to help his brothers be successful and help his mother if she needs money. As the oldest in the family he have a lot of responsibility to take care of the family.
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How have your past experiences affected your perspective on how you interact with the world and your community. He was affected positively. People in his neighborhood and school accepted him for who he was. He believes it doesn't matter what your background is or where you grew up it's about your ability and what you can do to help other people. He believes that the only way this country will prosper is not by pointing out our differences it's about coming together and working together . This causes him to want to give back and giving his perspective as a previous undocumented student, an ELS student, or a Latino young professional. He says for everyone of those times that someone said he couldn't do something because he was undocumented, or he couldn't speak English, or because his parents didn't go to college, he stands up to that person and proudly represents his people and he is proud to be an immigrant. He was sick of people telling him to get the papers he needed to and he needed a license and to stop being lazy. All immigrants need is an opportunity in society.
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What does the term refugee mean to you? He thinks it means safety Factor applied to be a refuge and was denied by the U.S. Victor's parents paid for a lawyer to get the process of becoming a citizen but the papers did not go through because of a bad lawyer and that is part of the reason it took so long. His uncle was chased out of Guatemala. Victor's mother was almost killed and she was assaulted. People don't understand that you can just get up and move out of this area because so many people are being killed and it is a dangerous time for indigenous looking Guatemalans. He does not believe they could have survived over there. Their parents knew that if they gave their children the power of education it will do wonders for you. Having to leave a child behind is an extremely hard decision but it was made for the betterment of the future of your family.
10. Is there anything you would like to share with us about the quest for refuge project? He believes this will clear up a lot of misconceptions of refuges by this type of personal storytelling and actual conversations. Victor gives an example of someone he knew in college that was a huge Mitt Romney fan and liked his harsh immigration policy. Victor ended up telling him that he was an undocumented immigrant for 16 years. He explained this was a very hard process that actually took 16 years to finish. When people share their stories it opens people's eyes to new perspectives and true hardships that people face daily. Victor is proud to represent such a diverse city like Providence. He is proud of the recognition's that was also given to providence and the strength of culture that providence has. Many people have gone through a journey to get to providence and call this place home. Some people think that having a melting pot is the wrong idea but he believes this is the best way to have a city prosper. A more diverse community is also a more inclusive city, this project shares exactly where people are coming from and how they work together to improve their communities.