Mari Campos

At 16, my dad was completely on his own. He took whatever work he could find — starting as a dishwasher, later becoming a farmworker — labor that eventually led to his path to citizenship.

He lived in SF with his cousin, eventually moving to Sonoma. The only people hiring undocumented immigrants were ranch owners. One random day on the radio, they announced green cards for farmworkers under Reagan’s amnesty. Anyone who qualified just needed to show up to an SF office. Yes, it was that simple back then.

He was terrified. He thought it was a setup — a trap to deport him. & many of his cousins/friends shared that same fear and didn’t show up. But my dad did. He took the risk & changed our life forever. Because of his courage, I was born here. I had opportunities he never had.

If this is the “right” or “legal” standard we expect from immigrants today, let’s be honest — that door no longer exists. What helped my dad wasn’t just hard work. It was a rare window of opportunity, open for a moment in history. This is something that weighs heavily on me. I will never turn my back on my community.

#immigrantsmakeamericagreat #daughterofimmigrants