Amnistia y legalizacion: Gendered Immigration in the Heartland

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For Teresa Gómez, the past few months had been a nightmare. The Postville immigration raid seemed like yesterday. She had feared being arrested but never thought her family would be torn apart. Father Bill had suggested she seek help from Catholic Charities, which is why she found herself standing outside the building today. She walked in and was directed to the office of Julia, a social services provider with the agency. Teresa settled into a sofa in the office and introduced herself, “Soy Teresa Gómez. Soy de Petapa, Guatemala. Tengo 33 años. Mi marido, Víctor yo llegamos a Postville, Iowa hace 11 años. Tenemos two hijos, Olivia de nine años y Vicente, que tiene seven años. No hablo mucho inglés, pero quiero que sepan mi historia. El padre Bill dice que son buena gente, ¿no?” “Welcome, Teresa. Yes, I am a person you can trust, and I want to help you if I can. Let’s start with you telling me about yourself and your family,” said Julia.