As record numbers of South Americans come to the U.S. seeking better economic opportunities, many are landing in communities that are unprepared for them — and sometimes outright hostile. Many migrants have also been unprepared for the realities of their new home. Last year, nearly 900,000 women and girls tried to cross the U.S.
Sofia Roca, a 49-year-old immigrant from Colombia , climbs a stairway inside her apartment complex in Aurora , Colo., on March 29, 2024. Sofia Roca, an immigrant from Colombia , packs up her belongings in Aurora , Colorado, on March 29, 2024, as she prepares to leave in search of work in another state. Sofia Roca, poses for a portrait on March 29, 2024, as she prepares to leave Aurora , Colorado, in search of more reliable work in another state.
Roca set out for the United States with an uncle. He was detained in Mexico, but Roca made it across the border in Juárez and told U.S. agents she was seeking asylum. She heard from a shelter worker in El Paso that Denver was offering free housing for migrants and Texas would pay to get her there.from the border to cities run by Democratic mayors, including Denver, New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C., according to a press release from the governor’s office.
So when her time is almost up at the Denver shelter, she does the only thing she knows to do: She heads to East Colfax in Aurora. After more than a week of staying with the family in Kentucky and cooking and eating meals together, Roca learns El Cubano’s wife works in el negocio, or “the business.” There is not much work in Kentucky, so she earns her money through sex work, she tells Roca, while her kids play a few feet away.
Roca considers all of the jobs she’s done in her life. Caring for Alzheimer’s patients as a home health aide. Answering phones at a call center. Selling beauty products on the street in Mexico. Roca found a job on the weekends helping a man set up and break down his stall at an outdoor flea market. She hefted large sacks of used clothing over her shoulders, put out the clothing on display, talked to customers. All for $10 an hour. “It’s an abusive wage,” she said, “but it’s a job.”
In the small vestibule, a 1970s-era cigarette vending machine stood in the corner. A grandfatherly man waited behind a plexiglass sliding window. There were no vacancies, but he urged her to try the bar in the back. “They’re always looking for girls,” he said.
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