A book by Maria Luisa Arredondo highlights the importance of Mexican migrant women in the U.S.

A Mexican activist who wed her husband, a U.S. Marine veteran in the border of Tijuana/San Diego; the journey of a migrant child from the California farms to the Mexico’s Congress; and the undocumented immigration attorney who defends immigrants are some of the stories in the book “La Vida Después del Cruce” (Life after crossing the border) by Maria Luisa Arredondo.

Arredondo, an independent journalist and founder of latinocalifornia.com, an online Spanish publication, publicly released the book last month. In an interview with CALÓ News, the author said this inspirational book put together the stories of 14 Mexican immigrant women who shared their experiences and challenges in life.

Arredondo’s interest in covering the Mexican female migration grew when she learned about the exponential growth of Mexican women in the U.S. 

According to the Consejo Nacional de Población (CONAPO) of Mexico, in 1970 there were a little less than half a million Mexican women living in the U.S. By 2020 that number grew to 5.5 million. 

“We represent 46.8% of all Mexicans in the U.S of the total population of 12.2 millions,” said Arredondo. “This makes immigrant women the largest group of female migrants living in the U.S.”

Arredondo said another factor that led to the writing of her book was discrimination. She said women face discrimination, not just because of their country of origin, but also because of their gender. They become victims of the system, many times at home in Mexico, and when migrating, they experience abuse, rape and violence in their trajectory.

“I selected 14 cases of women who have succeeded in different areas of regular life. They are not only famous people, but also ordinary people,” said Arredondo. “I believe their stories must be told because they give us an important lesson on how to overcome adversity in the middle of complicated situations.”

They are not criminals 

Under the current administration, immigrants are being targeted for the color of their skin, the language they speak or the location where they work. Just this past Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with President Trump allowing federal immigration officers to continue their aggressive immigration raids.

Arredondo said her book’s aim is to  change the narrative. Many immigrants migrate to the U.S. to do the most difficult jobs, but there are also many more who have higher education.

She said one of the stories is Ana Valdez who lived in Europe. She worked in France and Germany, then moved to the U.S. to work in the White House. 

Eventually she and her husband moved to Beverly Hills where she experienced the classism and racism in her own neighborhood.

“People couldn’t believe she was the homeowner. Neighbors would confuse her with a maid or the babysitter,” said Arredondo. “However, she has learned to move on and now she is the director of an organization, Latino Donor Collaborative.” 

A positive message

Arredondo said she hopes this book brings awareness and encouragement to women facing obstacles and motivates them to look for options.

“I would also like for others to investigate more on Mexican women migration because it hasn’t been investigated enough,” she said. 

Arredondo has become an expert on the immigration issue after covering it as a journalist for decades. She came to the U.S. from Mexico in 1989 and started working for the Spanish newspaper La Opinion in 1992 where she covered – among many other stories – California Prop 187 in 1992. This proposition intended to eliminate all public services to undocumented immigrants. While it passed in California in 1994, the law was eventually invalidated after it was found to be unconstitutional. 

Arredondo said it is also important to highlight that governments on the Republican and Democrat side have been using immigrants as a transaction currency. However, nothing compares to what immigrants are experiencing with Trump. 

“All of [his] comments are lies, and these lies must be proven wrong with facts. I hope this book contributes positively,” she said. “I hope it shows that immigrants are courageous people that come to contribute to the greatness of this country.”