My family and I were just arriving at the Mexican border hoping to be able to cross the border and go to America. It was a very dark night with a lot of twinkling stars it was about 11:00pm. We were in our 1965 Chevrolet. It was an original, it was my grandfathers past down to my father and next it would be mine, unless I could afford my own car, but my grandfather would be torn apart he said that his dream would be for his son and grand son to use his car. It wasn’t that mistreated the only thing was that the paint was coming off, but as soon as we got to America we were going to get it painted in a dark shiny black.


As we were about to cross the border I noticed that a short skinny police officer was coming towards our vehicle. I thought that he was just coming closer and closer to our Chevrolet when I noticed he stopped a 2009 Escalade. He stopped by for a couple of seconds. I had to pray that he wouldn’t stop our car because there was a lot of police officers and immigration trucks. The immigration patrol officers were easy to notice because they had a dark green jump suit, with heavy my boots. Each officer had a belt around their waste with a gun, hand cuffs, tazers, walkie-talkie and some even had their own cell phones. One of the officers was coming towards our truck I think that I was the only one that noticed the police officer because my family was talking about what we were going to do once we got to America. An immigration officer with a badge reading Ernesto Ramirez tapped the window of my 1965 Chevorlet.


“Hello my name is Ernesto Rodriguez and I’m sorry you can’t move this vehicle any further. Before I can let you go I’m going to need to see some papers. You guys can’t leave Mexico with out some identification that would be illegal what you guys are doing trying to sneak out of the country.”


“But we didn’t do anything wrong!” My father didn’t say another word after he saw Officer Ernesto Rodriguez put his finger over his lips as he shook his head. Officer Rodriguez grabbed his walkie-talkie and called the immigration patrol. We couldn’t do anything else but listen to the officer and stay seated.


My father, grandmother, brother, mother and I unbuckled our seatbelts and saw immigration patrol come and arrest my father since he was the one that was driving. Everything went by fast it felt like two seconds. My father was taken to jail, and as for my family and I, we were sent back home. It was the saddest moment of my whole entire life. I never guessed that leaving Mexico would bring so many consequences.


As I thought and thought for hours about the crises that was going on, I started to think what if I go on live television. I wanted to make a change. I wanted to tell my story. I took out two pieces of paper and a pencil, I wrote my first letter to the national news. I wanted to make a change. I wrote a letter letting the national news know to come to The Plaza the next day and for the other paper that was for the speech that I was going to recite. I knew that I was going to have to say about all the immigration and deportation problems that were going on. I decided to put signs up every where that I could to let people know that there was going to be an important event happening at the Plaza the next day.


After, all night thinking how this day would go with everyone wondering why I would make such a big effort for something that wont even be possible for4 my dream for Mexicans to get their papers come true here was the day. I was going to try and change things for Mexicans. Whether it worked or not I was still going to try the best that was possible. It was the thought and effort that I was going to put into this speech. I wanted to stay in a strong position for what I believed in. I was exhausted; I had been all over the place posting signs up every where so that people would know that there was going to be an important even at the plaza this afternoon.


Later on in the day like at 12 in the afternoon I was standing on a pretty big stage shaped kind of table at the Plaza, it was the closest thing that looked like a stage. People looking at me up and down and of course the news reporters were there too. After all I did ask them to come, but what others didn’t know was that I was so nervous I wanted to take everything back and I wished I never put up signs or sent that dumb letter to the national news. But of course I didn’t want to let anyone know that I was scared, what they would think of me. Well here goes nothing I thought. I unfolded the speech that was written on a crumbled piece of paper inside of my pocket, and I began to read aloud with people and cameras in my face.
I read:


“My name is Pancho Juarez, I am just a fourteen year old boy. Tears come down my cheek having to know that my father is in prison, in prison and he didn’t even commit a crime. We all just wanted to go to America for a better life to get rid of the bad economy here in Mexico. I don’t think it’s fair that us Mexicans have to pay for something that we don’t even do. Other people don’t even get blamed for a crime they are responsible for, how many people kill others and they’re still loose on the streets, running around searching for another one of their victims. They deserve to go to jail not us! Even if it’s just me to stand up for Mexicans, I’m going to do it. If you guys want to help quit working, see how long it lasts for people to loose their business here in Mexico and in America, theirs businesses in America that also rely on us but people don’t think of that do they. Let’s see how long it takes for us to get complete freedom.”


“I am a hard working, respectful and obedient. I cant take this anymore I work at a taco stand and my manager Juan Miguel is always bossing me around, and hardly even pays me just, just, just because I’m 100% Mexican and he is from America but still Mexican. He thinks less of me. We all deserve equal rights. We all work very hard.”

I felt my cheeks as red as a tomato after I saw my boss standing near the table I was standing on. I looked down and didn’t want to look back up, but I had no choice, I had to.

“I don’t know how but I’m going to make sure that everybody with a good clean record get there papers. So, they can enter America. After I said that I turned away and hopped off the table I was standing on so people could be able to hear and see me during the speech.”

I went home acting like nothing had happened because my family wasn’t aware of what was happening and they wouldn’t find out because they didn’t want to go outside or turn on the television of how depressed they were of what was happening with my father.

Days went by like a snap of lighting and nothing happened except for the chismosas (gossip woman), across the street from my house talking about me. I felt like saying “chismosas” “chismorelars” but no I knew to keep my mouth shut. I knew that I wasn’t disrespectful kind of boy.

The door to my room banged! Who was it? I wasn’t expecting anybody, was I? Well actually the door to my room wasn’t being knocked on the door to the living room was being knocked. The living room is like my room because I’m always in there. But was it my mom, uncle, grandmother, or one of my siblings. It had to because how else would they enter the living room. I thought they all went to the ranch for a day or two, to relax I had a lot of thoughts going through my mind, had they come back early. I stood up off the sofa and opened the door. I opened the door and it wasn’t my family. It was the news reporter from Galavision. I was wondering why she was looking at me up and down, but then again I didn’t have a shirt on and I guess she was looking at my six packs. Because I don’t think that she was looking at my Jordan dark blue shorts and my Fusions. This lady was being too pushy she just invited herself in. Finally she said something.

“Hi, my name is Maria Vasquez from Galavision News. Im sure you should know that by now,” she crackled.
I was confused what was she doing at my house. What was going on? I had a lot of thoughts going through my mind. I was wondering if she was here to tell me if something had happened to my family since they went on a family trip that I didn’t want to attend. I was so nervous but I had to say something anything that came to my mind.

“Hi I’m Pancho Juarez, and not to be mean or anything but what are you doing at my house.
“I’m here to interview you over the speech you made a couple of days ago at the plaza.”
“Oh.” I mumbled.
“Well where can I sit so we can begin?” She questioned.
“You can sit over here, follow me.” I said as I led her to the diner room, she took a seat as I pulled out the chair for her. I noticed that she was looking at everything.
“Camera man, over here were about to begin the interview.” She hollered.
“Where live in 3, 2, 1 and where here with Pancho Juarez a fourteen years old who had so much courage to make such a speech and try to help all Mexicans. I’m here just to ask him a few questions to know what led him to making this speech.” She stopped then took a side glance at me then turned back to the video camera. I was kind of nervous I tried not to bite my lip but I had to, and I did. Every time she asked me a question I was just going to answer it I couldn’t stop and think because then people were going to think that I don’t even know why I’m doing all of this for.
Then she continued “So, what influenced you to make such a big decision and make such a speech?”
“Well, ummmmm my family and I were at the border and I was about to cross. But, this officer stops by and thinks that we are trying to sneak out, and he ar ar ar ar arrested my father.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Well, is there anything else you would like to say?”
“Yes, I want people to help me and make this possible. I want my dad to come home, and I want everyone to have equal rights.” After that the camera turned off and she shook my hand and waddled out the door without saying a word.

Since, I had heard good things about the president of the United States of America, Barak Obama. I went on the computer and sent an email to Obama about what was going on. I knew his email because I went through many hours of goggling it I typed in about what happened at the border. I know that I was being annoying because I sent him like twenty different emails letting him know what had happened and what I wanted to happen.

After a day I checked my email and I got two new messages one from
my brother and the other from Obama. I read Obama’s first and it said that
he was glad to hear that there was a young boy who liked to speak his mind. He also said that he was sorry to hear that my father is in jail.

The most important thing was that he said that he was going to authorize a meeting that was going to be broadcasted on television, explaining that he authorizes Mexicans with a good background to get papers. I was so happy I wrote back to his email.

Dear president Barak Obama,
You don’t know how grateful I am. I am so glad that you are the president and that you want to make a change for everybody and all races. I hope to meet you one day but hopefully we always keep in touch and never loose contact. May God bless you!

Sincerely, Pancho Juarez


Oh my God was this happening? Why couldn’t I wake up out of this dream was it really happening? Somebody pinch me I kept on telling myself. I guess that it was really happening to me it all felt good that I did this when not a lot of people had the faith in me, but I felt bad that I was doing this behind my families back. It was all for their own good I didn’t want them to be more stressed out then they had already been through with us not knowing anything about my father since he was arrested. Had something happened to my father? I busted that bubble out of my mind I didn’t want any bad thoughts going through my mind. There were too many emotions going through my mind right now.


Well, finally I decided to click on my brother Oscar Santiago Juan Juarez’ email it read:
Hey bro what’s up? How are things over there? Well I just wanted you to know we didn’t come to take a break at the ranch we came to bail dad out, and guess what he’s coming home we’re on our way back home we’ll be there before 11 pm.

Oh my god my day couldn’t get any better! My father was coming home and Mexicans were going to get papers. I couldn’t even reply back I was so happy that my fingers started to tingle. I was so excited that I went to sleep. I woke up the next morning hugging and kissing my father. I was about to tell them the news that we were going to get papers when my father said:

“Son you did it I’m so proud of you! We’re going to be able to get papers and go to America. You’re an inspiration to many people I admire you son.”

I was just wondering how they knew but it wasn’t just them that knew, everybody knew. I was on the television, newspapers, and magazines. Everybody knew about the emails, speech, and the interview (it was put on mostly every website and every channel). It was official we were all going to get papers and never get deported, finally everybody went back to working until officers checked our record and gave us papers and personal documents, saying we had the choice to travel when ever and where ever we wanted. Two days before my family and I were going to go to America I received a letter from Barack Obama. It read:

Wishes do come true keep on dreaming, dream big you are a star. That’s all it said and with his signature my dream did come true and he helped me make it come true. Everybody was saying that I was their idol but Obama was my idol he helped me in the way that no other person could have. He was somebody that I admire and always would admire! This was apart of my life that I never want to forget. Many people thought that I was a humble teenager because I was giving all of the credit to Barack Obama. But if it weren’t for his help I don’t know what I would have done without him. Not to think negative but I don’t think that Mexicans would have gotten papers if it weren’t for Barack Obama because people would have just thought that nothing would be accomplished since I’m just a fourteen year old.