“Angie loves ketchup, doughnuts and writing. Edgar loves Angie, his baby brother and Chuck Norris. Maria is a soccer player. Helene likes to play golf–if she has good company to stave off boredom.”
This is how Don Terry describes the four young adults with whom he spent the last six weeks. They remind him of kids in his own family. All are members of the National Honor Society seemingly on their way to college.
But, as will be evident in this week’s cover story “I’m still crossing the border,” first impressions can be deceiving. Angie, the valedictorian of her class at Benito Juarez Community Academy, is an undocumented immigrant, as is her friend and classmate Maria. Helene, No. 2 in the class, is a citizen, but her boyfriend is undocumented. Their personal stories provide an important dimension to the immigration-debate headlines.
In the course of covering news events leading up to the May 1 Immigration March in Chicago, photographer Abel Uribe followed countless leads, and one of them led to Juarez, where 97 undocumented students were graduating. “Way too often we write stories about Latino students and the dropout rate,” reflects Abel. “Immigration is a hot issue in this country and we need to hear success stories too.”
Even if they are complicated by reality. “When politicians argue about fences and troops along the border, about kicking people out of the country,” observes Don, “I’m sure they haven’t spent much time with the students at a place like Juarez.”
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etaylor@tribune.com
