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Ernest Rodriguez speeches, 1976-2006

Ernest Rodriguez CHALE (Chicano Hispanic Association for Legal Education) Speech Page 3

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This was quite difficult and time consuming because all church records of my dad's birth had been destroyed during the Mexican revolution.

After obtaining the Mexican passport, in order to obtain a permanent resident visa, i had to establish proof that my dad had resided here prior to 1935 when a visa was required to enter the U. S. from Mexico.

This meant acquiring school records of my brothers and sisters as far back as possible, sending for census records of our family, and obtaining employment records of my father as far back as possible.

Also it was necessary to obtain reference letters from friends and past employers, etc.

Finally after perhaps a year of more my father received a permanent resident visa offically recognizing him to be a legal resident of the U.S. after residing here for over 40 years.

And all because of his desire to live in Mexico but to be able to revisit his family in the U.S.  Needless to say hundreds of the early Mexican immigrants found themselves in the same predicament as my dad and had to go through the same lengthy process in order to maintain contact with their families or not to be separated from them.  

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3-3-3 This was quite difficult and time consuming because all church records of my dad's birth had been destroyed during the Mexican revolution. After obtaining the Mexican passport, in order to obtain a permanent resident visa, i had to establish proof that my dad had resided here prior to 1935 when a visa was required to enter the U. S. from Mexico. This meant acquiring school records of my brothers and sisters as far back as possible, sending for census records of our family, and obtaining employment records of my father as far back as possible. Also it was necessary to obtain reference letters from friends and past employers, etc. Finally after perhaps a year of more my father received a permanent resident visa offically recognizing him to be a legal resident of the U.S. after residing here for over 40 years. And all because of his desire to live in Mexico but to be able to revisit his family in the U.S. Needless to say hundreds of the early Mexican immigrants found themselves in the same predicament as my dad and had to go through the same lengthy process in order to maintain contact with their families or not to be separated from them. 3