TIJUANA – Elisa Morales Guzmán was a typical American teenager. She attended high school, hung out with her friends and dreamed of becoming a famous actress.
But one afternoon last May, while at her best friend's house, Elisa received a call from her mother, who told the teen that she had just been deported.
The news shattered the 15-year-old's world.
Esther Morales Guzmán, 48, who had lived in the United States without legal documents for 18 years, was arrested by immigration authorities near her home in the San Francisco Bay Area. The next day, at 4 a.m., she was dropped off in Tijuana, along with 50 others.
In an instant, Elisa became one of the thousands of children caught up in the nationwide crackdown on illegal immigrants.
Elisa will emerge from that anonymity this week at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, where she has been invited to speak at a forum about her family's experience.
Sen. Barack Obama and key party leaders have been invited to the forum, being presented by Hermandad Mexicana, an organization that advocates for the human rights of immigrants.
The Los Angeles-based group chose Elisa as its spokeswoman on the plight of U.S.-born children separated from their parents who are deported.
The logistics and timing of the forum are being worked out. Elisa doesn't know how much time she'll have to tell her story, but she will have the opportunity, said Micaela Saucedo.
Saucedo is the director of Casa Refugio Elvira, a shelter for deported families in Tijuana, where Elisa and her mother are staying. Saucedo said Elisa was selected because of the strength she displayed after her mother was arrested.
“She represents the typical example of this humanitarian crisis that's happening when families are separated by immigration raids,” Saucedo said.
“Our objective is for Obama to hear the young girl in person so he can understand the problems faced by immigrants.”
Elisa moved to the shelter in downtown Tijuana on Aug. 2 to be with her mother, who is single and has no other children. The teen had never been to Mexico.
“All the experiences I've had have made me stronger,” Elisa said in halting Spanish. “I know life goes on and you have to keep fighting. I now want to help immigrants so they can get ahead.”
In Tijuana, Elisa and her mother work as volunteers at the shelter, running a second-hand store that helps pay the bills.
In California, Esther Morales Guzmán was a cook at a seafood restaurant and managed apartments. Mother and daughter lived in a rented home in Union City.
Morales said she believes that she has no other option but to try to return illegally once more to the United States.
“Life in Oaxaca hasn't gotten any better since I left,” she said of her home state. “In fact, it's worse.”
Elisa plans to return to James Logan High School in Union City, where she would be in 10th grade, perhaps as soon as next month. She would live with relatives.
Elisa said that she is not nervous about speaking at the convention. She is going to tap the skills she has developed in the drama club at school.
“I want to say that (the U.S. authorities) are driving families apart, little by little. I want people to hear me, to hear us.”
Omar Millán González is a contributor to the Union-Tribune's Spanish-language weekly, Enlace.
