From Immigrant to Millionaire

The U.S. government faces a serious problem with illegal immigrants, mostly with those from Mexico. Over 1 million Mexicans pass the U.S. – Mexico border every year, illegally. Most of them get low-paying jobs, but the government feels that these jobs should be given to U.S. citizens and hiring an illegal alien has been illegal for many years, because of this fact. But not all illegal immigrants are taking the jobs of U.S. citizens.

In 1981, a man named Paul Esteban Valdez tried his luck in passing the border. He was tired of his life in Mexico and wanted to become someone in the United States. He started low, trying to use everything that he knew to get attention from his employer. He first worked at a local restaurant from San Diego, but still illegally. He couldn’t go anywhere because if a police officer would have asked him for ID, he would have been deported. For 5 years, he only went to work and in his one room apartment. When he wasn’t working, he tried to improve his English and he took cooking classes. He was very appreciated at the restaurant where he worked, but because of his legal condition, he was never promoted. He begun to know more and more about cooking and he spooked English so good that no one could tell that he was actually Mexican. In 1986, President Ronald Regan granted amnesty to all Mexicans who had been living illegally in the U.S. for at least 5 years before this law. Paul Esteban Valdez now had the right to benefit from all the advantages of being an American citizen. He was promoted and he started rising money to start his own business. Surely enough, with perseverance he managed to open his own restaurant. He attracted many clients because he was able to cook many traditional meals and he offered a diverse menu. In a few years he had enough customers and enough money to expand his business. He opened another restaurant, in another part of San Diego. By the year 2000 he had a large chain of restaurant all over California. The irony of the whole situation is that more than 90% of the people who work at this restaurant were born in the U.S. Only 10% of the personnel are Mexicans, with legal documents. This means that the person that the U.S. government had tried to keep away from taking the job of an American citizen, Paul Esteban Valdez, not only preformed better than anyone else could, but in 15 years he managed to give out 500 job openings, most of them filled by American citizens.

Paul Esteban Valdez had to live 4 years without friends, working and studying every day to fulfill his dream. It took a lot of time and many sacrifices, but nothing is better than feeling like you’ve done something in your life. This is not an isolated case. He is just an image of the hard working illegal immigrants that managed to offer job places and high quality services to U.S. citizens. Even if some work places are taken illegally, everyone can agree that Mexicans are hard working people and they are only trying to get a better life. Paul Esteban Valdez and many others have defeated the system and proved that anyone can accomplish their dreams and the “problem” of illegal immigrants has been presented in a new light. Maybe one day, they U.S. government will realize that immigrants are not trying to take the workplaces of U.S. citizens; they are just trying to get a better life.